


Leave It All Abroad

by Sophia_Anne_Moore



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Italy, Mystery, Romance, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2019-11-14 01:50:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18043172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophia_Anne_Moore/pseuds/Sophia_Anne_Moore
Summary: Italy was supposed to be the place to relax, reset, and help an old friend. But who else Gabriella finds there could rekindle an old flame and expose a conspiracy wilder than her imagination. This month will be anything but a vacation.





	1. Positano Calling

“I need you to come visit me at the vineyard in Italy to see if I should marry him or not.” As ridiculous as the request was, Gabriella wasn’t surprised. Only Sharpay, her best friend the last four years, could suggest something so absurd with the confidence of total rationality.

“I have work.”

“Take a vacation.”

“It’s not that easy.”

Sharpay rolled her eyes and impatiently sighed, leaning away from the camera until the bedazzled _Princess_ across her camisole came into view. It was only two in the morning over there and Gabriella wondered not for the first time if Sharpay actually owned anything that wasn’t hot pink or covered in rhinestones.

“It’ll only be a month.”

“ _Only_ a _month_?”

“Yeah, so? What’s the big deal?”

“A month is a long time to be away from work.”

“I thought you were leaving that job soon anyways.”

“You’re right, I thought about it. They still haven’t paid me for last month, but I don’t want to provoke the wife. She seems a little crazy.” A loud ring from Sharpay’s end rattled the speaker on her laptop.

Sharpay lifted her jewel-encased phone and said, “Oo, hold that thought.” She rose from the couch and stepped out of frame, showing how long her blonde hair had gotten and the tan on her legs. It was enough to make Gabriella self-conscious as she hunched over her laptop in a former boyfriend’s tattered T-shirt and shapeless sweatpants. As happy as she was for Sharpay, she couldn’t help but be envious, too. Gabriella worked her ass off and sacrificed her social life just to live paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, Sharpay lived in paradise where she drove luxury cars, wore designer clothes, and found a handsome man who wanted to marry her.

She didn’t want everything Sharpay had. She could do without the cars and the clothes and probably the man for a little while. But what bugged her more than anything was that Sharpay had everything Sharpay ever wanted, but Gabriella was working so hard to be nowhere closer to reaching her goals. She hadn’t graduated college, hadn’t found a well-paying job, hadn’t moved out of her hometown. With her exhaustion wearing her down and the news of a possible engagement, tonight was especially hard to see that Sharpay was well on her way to achieving all of hers.

Sharpay reappeared behind the couch said to the camera, “You’re in luck. I have to go so I’m granting you one more day to decide. You could spend the next month wiping snot off those spoiled brat’s nose. Or you could have the time of your life with your best friend in Positano. Ciao!” Sharpay stretched over the back of the couch until she could end the Skype call.

* * *

 

The alarm on her phone said it was five in the morning. The sun still hadn’t risen, but Gabriella needed to crawl her tired self out of bed, take a freezing cold shower, and get ready for another tiresome day. For this reason, she felt more inclined to accept Sharpay’s generous offer. This impulse intensified during rush hour but diminished once she reunited with the kids. She nannied four of them: Michael, Jasmine, Penelope, and Lucas. Michael and Jasmine were talkative, energetic four-year-old twins who entertained each other with tag, nursery rhymes, and sharing Mr. Potato Head toys. Penelope and Lucas, the next set of twins, were only toddlers whose adorable imitations of adult speech were still incoherent babbles. They truly weren’t any more snot-nosed than any other kids, even if they were born into a ridiculously privileged family. 

There was so much to do today with potty training, cooking, cleaning, and playing that Gabriella didn’t realize the time when their mom came home. Gabriella gathered her bag, hugged the four of them goodbye, and tracked down Mrs. Collins to her bedroom.

She knocked on the door and it opened immediately. Gabriella wondered if she had been waiting on the other side this whole time…listening for her to leave. Gabriella brushed off the eeriness and said, “Sorry to bother you. I wanted to know when I’m getting paid.”

Karen Collins opened her mouth before a ding interrupted her thought. She took her phone out of her pocket and held it up between she and Gabriella. Uninterested and unconcerned by her question, Karen began texting, and the little clicks of her touchscreen keyboard answered for her. Gabriella said, “Karen?” 

“Oh,” she finally looked at Gabriella and said, “Thomas should have sorted that out.” Karen stepped around Gabriella and walked down the hall towards the kids’ playroom.

“I’m sorry, but he didn’t. It’s been almost six weeks since I was paid.”

“Six weeks?” Karen stopped, faced Gabriella, and said, “No, we only owe you for the last cycle and this week. So three weeks.”

Gabriella insisted, “Mrs. Collins, I know when the last time I got paid was. I can show you on my bank account.”

She dismissed Gabriella’s offer, “That wouldn’t be of any use since we pay you in cash.”

“But I always deposit it the next day. I have no reason to lie about this. I just want what’s owed to me.”

“Of course, dear. I wouldn’t accuse you of such a thing. You’re not a swindler. You’re just mistaken.” In her third attempt to dismiss Gabriella, Karen turned around and walked away again.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Collins.”

“Gabriella,” Karen approached her saying, “my dear, it’s late. I’d like to spend some time with my children before their bedtime if you don’t mind.” She rested her hands on her shoulders, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Something about this woman never sat right with her. Something was off. It was like she wore a mask that never quite fit. And now she was playing the fatigued mother, and again, Gabriella could see the monster through the cracks.

Gabriella said, “I want you to spend time with them, too, but I hope you can sympathize with the fact that I have rent and bills and groceries that I need to keep up with.”

She took her hands off Gabriella and the air suddenly felt bitterly cold. “It’s only been a few weeks’ delay. If you didn’t have the savings to cover a few weeks that’s no fault but your own.”

Gabriella had watched Karen turn her back on her for the last time. Her seething anger reached from her locked jaw to her clenched fists. She snapped, “Write me a check, now!”

Karen whipped her hair as she spun to face Gabriella and said offended, “Excuse me? What is that tone? I’ve never in my life heard such vile attitude in my life!”

Gabriella ordered her, “Get your fancy designer purse back in here, take out your checkbook, and pay me the remaining balance or I quit.”

“I will not tolerate your hostile demands, Gabriella!” She slowly stepped towards Gabriella with a maniacal smile growing across her face. With a daring, mocking voice she said, “You should have thought long and hard before biting the hand that feeds you.”

“Maybe if you listened to me complaining about my missing paychecks the past month, you wouldn’t be getting bit. Where’s my money?”

“You’re not seeing any of it for a long while. Maybe that’ll teach you a thing or two about manners. And if you couldn’t tell already, you’re fired!”

It took every inch of self-discipline to refrain from spitting on her, from calling her every expletive she could think of, from doing something she’d truly regret. With the evil woman’s eyes still on her, Gabriella forced herself to leave the house.

* * *

 

“She’s fucking crazy! I swear to God that bitch took sadistic pleasure in the whole situation. Can you believe someone would be so cold and so vile?” Sharpay seemed unphased and even bored of her story. Granted, Gabriella was on her third reiteration, but she finally felt she was getting to the heart of her fury. “God! I want to sue her up the asshole.”

Sharpay raised the hand she was dragging across the nail file up to the light and said, “Well as I offered before, I can get you a lawyer.”

Gabriella listened and somehow the hope of revenge calmed her. “Are you sure? I don’t know how I could pay you back.”

She shrugged, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks, Shar.”

Her brown eyes looked up above the camera’s direct center in thought. “Although, there is one teeny tiny thingy you could do for me.”

“Sure!”

A mischievous smile snuck on her face as she said, “It might be positively torturous for such a busy body like you, but Gabriella, please, I’m _begging_ you to get your cute little butt on a plane…”

Gabriella realized where this was going and murmured, “Oh no.”

“…sip champagne all the way to Italy…”

“Here we go again.”

“…and come relax on the beach with me! I know, it’s sounds like _so_ much hard labor! We’ll go shopping and drink wine and go to parties and pile on the yacht. There’ll be fancy art shows and symphonies. I’m inviting so many people!”

“Sharpay, you know that’s not my scene.”

Sharpay whined, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to introduce you to my other friends? But you’re always busy! And you promised me you’d visit here when I moved away, and it’s already been a year! With all the marriage talk Ronaldo has suddenly become obsessed with, I need you here more than ever. Please Gabriella. It’s all I want.”

Gabriella thought about it for a moment, considered the beach she’d seen through the Skype calls and constant tan Sharpay shows off. This vacation obviously wouldn’t put her any closer to her goals, but neither was anything she did at home. Maybe a break from it all would be the reset she needed. She’d been tempted to go plenty of times before, and now that she didn’t have a job, there really was no excuse. She folded, “Fine.”

Sharpay screamed at the top of her lungs and giddily bounced up and down on her couch. “Oh my God it’s going to be so much fun!” She clapped her hands together excitedly and said, “I’m going to reimburse you for all the travel expenses!”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re finally coming! I couldn’t be happier to!” 

* * *

With a couple outfit changes and bikinis packed, Gabriella boarded the next flight to Naples. After a confusing moment in the city with an out of date Italian to English dictionary, she found the train station and set off to Positano. When they turned around the hillside and Gabriella caught a glimpse of the city between old buildings, she thought she had left this world. What she saw with the endless water, sailboats, and beautiful houses belonged to the movies. She never would have thought this could ever be her reality, especially for an entire month.

By the time the cab driver arrived to their neighborhood, the sun was already setting. By the guidance of the dim light, she followed the stepping stones through the pebbles up to the tile beneath the arches. She set her suitcase down and knocked on the door when she heard voices from beside the house. When she followed the voices around the corner, and locked eyes with Sharpay. Sharpay cupped her mouth and said, “Oh my God.”

Gabriella parroted, “Oh my God!”

“Oh my God!” She unstuck her stilettos from the floor and ran up to embrace Gabriella. The two squealed and hugged before animatedly talking about the plane ride and boasting about the view. Gabriella slowed her frantic speech when she noticed a tall, tanned man join Sharpay’s side.

“Oh!” Sharpay caught her breath. “Gabriella, this is Ronaldo.”

“Hi,” Gabriella said, “nice to meet you!”

He kissed each of Gabriella’s cheeks and smiled warmly at her without uttering a word.

Sharpay wrapped her arm around his and said, “He’s a little shy at first.”

“That’s alright! I prefer the quiet, in fact.”

Sharpay laughed and said, “Let me show you around the house! Ronaldo, grab her suitcase.” Sharpay took Gabriella’s arm and led her inside. “This is the foyer. Ugh, please don’t look up. Seriously. Whatever you do, don’t look up.”

Intrigued, Gabriella looked up and asked, “why?”

Sharpay playfully said, “Stop!” and cupped her hands over Gabriella’s eyes. “I hate that fugly chandelier. It’s going to go. I can’t stand the site of it anymore.” She ducked her head and hovered her hand above her eyes as if she were sheltering them from the sun. “Anyway, follow me upstairs.” She took her into a bedroom and said, “This is where you’ll be staying. We overextended our invitations so one of Ronaldo’s guy friends will have to stay with you.”

Gabriella looked at Sharpay with a stoic expression, still unsure how to tell if she was serious or not.

Sharpay clarified, “Just kidding. Wouldn’t that be so much fun, though?” She took her into the other guest rooms and opened a couple windows to show her the view. Then she marched her back down the stairs and brought her into the kitchen where all her and Ronaldo’s friends were gathered. “Everyone! Let me introduce you all to my best friend, Gabriella Montez.” Gabriella glanced around the kitchen at the friendly faces, each of them giving Sharpay their attention for the moment. “She’s a nanny, err, former nanny?” Gabriella shrugged and looked around at the others some more. “She’s between jobs,” Gabriella’s eyes glanced over one guy and continued across the room “but she’s--” Sharpay’s words faded away as Gabriella’s eyes snapped back to that guy again. She suddenly recognized him, and her expression instinctively changed to mirror his – unpleasant surprise.

This was the man she fell in love with nearly five years ago.

* * *

_Five Years Ago_

When Gabriella had to pick housing for Stanford, she followed the advice of nearly everyone she talked to and didn’t room with any of her friends. Something about getting on each other’s nerves and ruining friendships was enough to make her refrain from it. Instead, she registered to be randomly matched with a roommate. It’s very likely this could have gone well, but for whatever bad karma Gabriella had racked up, she had a terrible, terrible match.

Maybe she wasn’t _completely_ awful. She didn’t piss in her shampoo bottle or purposely sabotage her in anyway, but they were just different. _Too_ different. This girl, Olivia, was a popular party girl who couldn’t respect Gabriella’s need to read in silence. The smell of hairspray and a straightening iron was constantly in the congested air. She played her music too loudly, and if it wasn’t that, she was actively trying to talk to Gabriella.

After a week of this, Gabriella went to the library café, found the last booth in the far back corner, and finally read in the peace and quiet again. This lasted for about an hour before she saw someone approach her secluded area. She ignored him as he stood next to her booth and as he turned back around for a moment. But when he took a seat in the bench across the table from her, she was forced to look up at him. He set his backpack next to him and smiled at her.

She snapped, “Jesus Christ, can’t a girl find one place where she won’t be disturbed?”

“What? I’m sorry, all the other tables are full. I can find somewhere else if I need to.”

Shame from her rudeness cascaded over her. “Oh my god, no, that’s okay. I’m so sorry. I thought you wanted to talk to me.”

He gave a hearty laugh. “You don’t have to worry about that for now.”

Gabriella tried to get immersed in the world of her novel again, but was a mixture of too embarrassed and intrigued to be able to fully do so. After a couple minutes of rebuilding her confidence, she asked him, “For now?”

“Hm?”

“What did you mean I don’t have to worry about you talking to me _for now_?”

“As in someone else might come up and talk to you.”

“Oh, okay that makes sense.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I thought you meant you might want to talk to me later or something.”

“Oh, well, we can do that later once you’re not so busy.”

“No, that’s okay. Let’s talk.”

“I guess we’re already doing that, aren’t we?”

She giggled. “Yeah, I guess so.”

They exchanged names, discussed their first week, and discovered they were both going into business. Around the time they realized they both loved to sing, he asked her if she wanted anything to drink. When he returned with their coffees, he sat with her on her side of the booth. They talked some more about which artists were the favorite, and some more about popular movies. It took cycling through a couple of topics for Gabriella to realize she didn’t care much what they discussed. What she really cared about was discussing it with _him_. She wanted to get to know him. She wanted to get to know _all_ of him.

When Troy mentioned his admiration for The Strokes, he turned towards her and rested his arm around her in the booth. Then once he started to talk about Julian Casablanca’s solo career, all Gabriella could focus on was how physically close they were getting. She took advantage of a brief lull and intended to quickly peck him, but he adjusted his lips on hers and effectively deepened the kiss. It elicited a magnificent sensation, one like butterflies flurrying up from her belly to her heart. They would talk some more and kiss longer, talk less and kiss even longer, then barely talk before fully making out.

The sensation of his soft lips gliding against hers and the way he occasionally teased her by holding her bottom lip between his teeth sent small waves of pleasure through her body. She grew embarrassed of her obvious inexperience when she realized this alone was getting her wet. She was afraid to give herself up too soon, afraid what her mother warned her about being easy would make him run away. So she told herself that no matter how turned on she got, she wouldn’t have sex with him. At least for a while.

A while lasted a full week.

On day two they made out on his bed with Gabriella straddling him, and he got a tight grip on her ass from outside her shorts. Intoxicated by the erotic sensation and knowing that the hardening mass beneath her pelvis was from her own doing, she changed her rule to only as _he_ initiated it. On day three when he lifted her shirt and undid her bra, she proudly arched her back and eagerly welcomed the kisses on her breasts. Day four: his fingers traced the soft skin on her inner thighs until he could pull her underwear aside and put his fingers inside her. It was day five when he introduced rubbing his tongue over her clit until she pushed him off because it got so intense. On day six she took him inside her mouth and messily attempted her first blow job. Finally, on the seventh day, she let him get a condom and push himself into her, break her hymen, and continue until climax.

It turned out her mother’s concerns were entirely unfounded. Troy didn’t run away from her because of the timeline of what they did with their bodies. In fact, it was Gabriella who would cut things off at the six-month mark of their perfect relationship.  

* * *

Seeing him now, she drew a blank on anything about him or their experiences together. There wasn’t any of the shaggy hair or average build she remembered of her eighteen-year-old first love. He had a short beard and short sides with a head of hair that stuck out in many directions, but mostly up. And she could see beneath his white T-shirt that he had added a lot of muscle. Only his eyes were the same at twenty-three. Still the dreamy ocean blue, but this time as wide as saucers; probably mirroring hers.

She watched him recover first, breaking eye contact by abruptly turning away from her and retreating to the dining room. Sharpay’s words finally began registering with her again, saying, “Anyway, that’s Gabriella!”

The group welcomed her before resuming their conversation about dinner, and Gabriella pulled Sharpay into the bathroom.

Before she shut the door, Sharpay was already speculating, “What’s wrong? Is it Ronaldo? You don’t like him, do you?”

“Sharpay, calm down. It’s not Ronaldo.”

“If it’s not Ronaldo, then what is it?”

“I mean, there’s nothing wrong.”

“What? Come on! Obviously something’s wrong or you wouldn’t have dragged me in here.”

Gabriella paced the small room with her arms crossed over her chest and a blank stare penetrating the floor.

“Go on! Spit it out.”

Gabriella quietly asked, “How do you know Troy?”

“He’s one of Ronaldo’s friends. I think they met studying abroad or something. Why?”

“You remember me telling you about that guy I met in college who I lost my virginity to?”

“Yeah, Tr-” Sharpay violently inhaled before screaming, “Holy shit!” Gabriella shushed her, but Sharpay was overflowing with excitement and ideas. “Gabriella, this is so perfect! I’m deciding whether I should marry Ronaldo, and you can rekindle with the one who got away. How cute is that! What a beautiful vacation. God damn, you’re so fucking welcome!”

Gabriella gripped Sharpay’s shoulders to steady her bouncing and slowly, clearly stated, “Sharpay. I am not getting with my ex. I don’t know if you noticed or not, but he and I stared at each other like deer in each other’s headlights. We’re never getting back together.”

“Never say never, darling.” She winked with a little curtsy.

Gabriella shook her head. “Never.”

Sharpay threw the door open as if she was refreshed and rejoined the friends. Gabriella, however, reluctantly left the safe confines of the bathroom and cautiously stepped out with the others.

* * *

 

It seemed as though Troy were trying just as hard, if not harder, to avoid Gabriella as she was attempting to avoid him. Because by the time Sharpay called the girls together to get ready for dinner, she hadn’t seen him since their very tense first encounter.

Sharpay entered the master bedroom (hot pink, of course) and took her seat at the vanity. “Okay, quick introductions. Ivonne, start!”

A tall girl with noteworthy full lips and glistening mocha skin said, “Hi everyone! I’m Ivonne. Sharpay and I met in college.”

The girl next to Ivonne leaning against the end of the bed said in a British accent, “Hello. I’m Tiara Gold. I was Sharpay’s understudy in high school.”

Gabriella said, “Gabriella. I was Sharpay’s personal assistant for a couple of months.”

Sharpay joked, “I didn’t fire her. I just promoted her to best friend!”

A girl with white porcelain skin, but dyed black hair cut into a short bob said, “I’m Jackie. This is Emma and Lea,” she gestured to the redhead and the strawberry blonde next to her. “We met Sharpay in high school at the country club.”

“Okay.” Sharpay grabbed one of her thick brushes and ran it through her locks. “What does everyone think about Ronaldo? Let’s start with Gabriella.”

“He seems nice.”

The room remained silent waiting for her to continue, but she stared at the rug on the floor returning to her deep thoughts. Sharpay said, “Okay? Anything else?” Gabriella never responded. Their voices faded to white noise as Gabriella calculated just how furious Sharpay would be at her for leaving early, and divided that by how many weeks she wouldn’t talk to her before she finally forgave her. Ultimately she decided not to risk it. Afterall, Sharpay paid for all her transportation. And for all she knew, maybe Troy was coming up with his own excuse to give Ronaldo for his premature departure.

Sharpay’s announcement for dinner pulled Gabriella from her thoughts and together with the rest of the girls, she went downstairs.

The center of the massive table sat a display of three different types of pasta – fettucine, mostacholi, and spaghetti. Little sauce bowls surrounded the heaps of pasta with separate dishes for the meats on either end. The girls started to settle around the table across from the guys lined on the opposite side when Sharpay demanded, “Move Lea. I want Gabriella next to me.” She reached out her arm to welcome Gabriella who obliged, realizing too late Sharpay was purposely doing this to sit her right across from Troy.

Troy was aware of what was happening and said to the guy at the opposite end, “Fabrizio, switch with me. I’m left handed. I need an end seat.”

If Sharpay’s diabolical plan to get Gabriella and Troy back together included nothing much more than seating arrangements, then she’d have to try much, much harder.

Gabriella was relieved he moved, but it forced her to wonder if he really couldn’t stand being near her. She wasn’t keen on sitting across from him, but she still could have done it. But could he not? She hadn’t considered their break up to be especially messy, but was it really this bad all along? All throughout dinner, she alternated between conversations at the table and the thoughts in her head. She realized at one point that they hadn’t said anything to each other at all. It made her wonder what the last thing they said to each other was all those years ago. She knew it, but she didn’t want to think about it anymore than she had already recalled.

Troy was the first to excuse himself from the table and retire to his room. Everyone else gradually cleared their spots and while Ronaldo did the dishes, Gabriella volunteered to package the leftovers. Sharpay called her into the living room to meet with the girls, but Gabriella explained she was too tired and went upstairs to her room.

She walked up the staircase and turned around at the top to walk the length of the hallway to her room. When a door opened, she froze and caught her breath in her throat. Troy stepped out into the hallway and looked to her, but the shocked expression from earlier didn’t reappear. She dropped her eyes to the floor and began to walk around him. She heard his footsteps continue further towards the opposite end of the hallway before pausing. 

“Ella,” he called. _Ella_ , she thought. _Fuck_. She turned to face him and looked at his frown as he said, “It’s nice to see you again.”

Although he didn’t seem any more pleased to be in her presence than earlier, she appreciated his attempt to diffuse the awkwardness, or whatever he intended to do with that comment. At least he was trying to make it better by some measure.

She replied, “You too.” With her heart racing in her chest, she rushed into her room. She said to herself, “Whoa.” She felt spooked, like she just heard a ghost talk. And in a way she did. They were supposed to be erased from each other’s lives. At least, that _had_ been the plan.


	2. The Known

"This lady knows her shit," Sharpay said over her shoulder to the posse behind her. "I wouldn't dare go to anyone else in the city. They always make me look fat."

Tiara dramatically gasped and said, "Impossible!"

The group walked down the street in formation like Madeline, but with the energy of Mean Girls. Sharpay was leading front and center of course. Everything from her walk to her outfit displayed complete self-assurance. No one else dared to strut down the streets of Positano in a skin tight, hot pink mini skirt and white tank top with foreign words bedazzled in pink rhinestones. The boastfulness of her posture and the certainty in every step showed unchallenged confidence. She took every step not like she belonged there, but like she  _owned_  it. This was  _her_  city and everyone else was merely a guest.

On her heals was Tiara, a shorter girl who gave a convincing imitation of Sharpay's confident strut, but did so more arrogantly. Emma shared Tiara's row, and Lea and Jackie populated the row behind them. Those three made comical impressions with the snarls on their faces and bouncy struts. They missed any of the confidence Sharpay exhibited, or the little bit that Tiara produced. Ivonne walked next to Gabriella in the final row, and they were the only two taking a completely apathetic approach to the journey. Gabriella was more intrigued by how all the locals passing by, men and women alike, watched them curiously.

The women entered a little shop and were greeted by a platter of mimosas. Gabriella refused hers, afraid any alcohol would provoke the gnarly headache she'd been nursing all morning. While the others attacked the racks of clothing, Gabriella slumped across the daybed and didn't care when the baggy poncho she wore sagged off her shoulder. She had a big pair of Sharpay's sunglasses shielding her eyes from the bright Italian sun that she repeatedly pressed harder and harder into her face. She would otherwise be basking in her first dose of sunlight, but the terrible ache just behind her eyes was starting to pulsate.

She'd been long acquainted with this painful sensation. It was a common occurrence during times of immense stress, like college finals or job interviews. But today's pain was caused by no one other than Troy Bolton – a ghost from her past she thought she'd abandoned a long time ago.

Sharpay had shown the girls an especially cute skirt and they all, beside Ivonne who was across the room looking at a different rack, squealed excitedly. The ache was antagonized, and Gabriella pulled at her brunette roots in distress. The elderly seamstress with a measuring tape draped over her neck like a scarf asked, "Everything okay, dear?"

"I'm fine. Just a headache."

Gabriella turned to lay on her back, set the sunglasses on her stomach, and used her hands to cover her eyes instead. She overheard the seamstress take Sharpay into the changing area and the other girls criticizing clothes on the rack. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder and spread her fingers just enough to peek through to the seamstress standing over her. "I'm sorry, dear. You're by the platform."

The seamstress called Sharpay over, so everyone gathered around. Gabriella sat up for the others to share the daybed with her and watch as Sharpay was examined with a meticulous eye. The seamstress pinched the fabric on the small of Sharpay's back and said, "If you like this one, we can take it in at the waist to accentuate your figure." She let go of the waistline and ran her fingers along the inch-wide straps pinching her skin. "Looks like we'll need to give some more length to the strap. You have such strong and sexy shoulders."

Sharpay said, "That's code for manly, ladies."

The group laughed and the seamstress teased her, "Oh Sharpay, it wouldn't hurt you to take a compliment."

Sharpay smiled and rolled her eyes. "What does everyone think?" She gave a twirl, the fringe on the skirt and across her bust blooming around her body.

The others voiced their approval, but Ivonne and Gabriella remained silent.

Sharpay asked, "Ivonne?"

"I don't like fringe."

The air was sucked from the room as Sharpay pursed her lips and considered Ivonne's opinion. Gabriella realized the others probably never went against with Sharpay and were terrified to see the monster they imagined she morphed into at any slight disagreement. Sharpay could be blunt and at times rudely so, but Gabriella understood something about her that the others evidently didn't. She was always ruthlessly, un-apologetically herself. She never skirted around the problem, never bullshitted. It was a characteristic meant to be celebrated, not feared. But maybe Gabriella could appreciate the truth in a way they didn't.

Sharpay asked, "Gabriella?"

Gabriella said, "Not your color."

Sharpay looked to the seamstress and opened her mouth to talk, but the seamstress was faster to reassure, "Of course we will dye it in hot pink. Anything for you, Sharpay."

"I love the sound of that."

When the girls left the shop they continued to attract attention. From strangers on their walk to a small lunch spot, and from the employees at the restaurant, and from anybody passing by when they sat out on the patio. Each had borrowed a floppy hat from Sharpay's collection, except Ivonne who brought her own baseball cap from home. They sat shaded by their own personal visors, sipping water, studying the menu, and breathing in the fresh air. Gabriella enjoyed the quietness, but was disappointed to have grown aware of it, because certainly now that she realized it, one of the chatty girls had realized it too and was about to completely ruin it.

Lea asked, "Who was the one in the Adidas tracksuit?"

Gabriella tossed her menu on the table and rubbed her temples in an attempt to soothe the new stabbing sensation behind her eyes.

Sharpay said, "That was Viktor. He's Russian if you couldn't tell."

Emma asked, "And the one in the cardigan?"

"Alfonso. He's Ronaldo's cousin."

Jackie said, "Careful, Emma. He wears a  _cardigan_."

Tiara asked, "Who was the little pudgy one?"

Sharpay answered, "That's Enzo. He's Ronaldo's little brother."

Lea teased, "Wow, I never would have guessed you had a thing for chubby guys."

Tiara spoke condescendingly, "I'm not attracted to him in the slightest." She shrugged. "But he's Enzo's  _brother_. Half his family's inheritance might make up for that."

Sharpay said, "Not that I agree with that, but I should tell you that the entirety of the vineyard, estate, and stocks are going to Ronaldo. He's the only one who went to college and could keep it all afloat."

Jackie asked, "When does your brother get here?"

Emma said, "You know he's gay, right?"

Tiara said, "At least Alfonso will have some company."

Sharpay said, "He won't be coming."

Gabriella spoke up, "Why isn't Ryan coming?"

Sharpay ignored her question and Lea said, "Enough of this. Let's get to the pot of gold. Who was the one with the blue eyes?"

Sharpay answered, "Troy," but quickly deflected, "does everyone have a napkin?"

Emma pressed, "Is he single?"

Tiara said, "Does it matter? We're in Italy. What happens abroad, stays abroad!"

Sharpay said, "Again, not that I agree with that, but I don't know. Someone would have to ask his friends." She attempted to change subjects again and asked, "Seriously though, where's our appetizer?"

Tiara said, "Wouldn't make a difference to me."

Ivonne said, "Trust me girl, we can tell." Gabriella was so afraid she wouldn't be able to contain her laughter that she had to cup her mouth with her hand. Unable to risk looking at Tiara and laughing even harder, she stared down at her lap. Nevertheless, she could still feel the heat from the smoldering glare Tiara served from across the table.

Tiara said, "My point is, I call dibs."

Emma scoffed and said, "No fair!  _I'm_  the one who asked about him first. If anyone gets dibs, it should be me."

Jackie said, "It's no use calling dibs. All is fair in love and war."

Sharpay said, "Enough of this nonsense. I don't care who, if  _any_  of you will get with him or how. Let's just enjoy our lunch without any of this pointless boy talk." She checked on Gabriella who stared back at her with her lips in a straight line and her eyes still hidden behind the big sunglasses.

Ivonne crossed her arms and said, " _Pointless_  boy talk? That doesn't sound like the Sharpay I know. You never mind boy talk when it's all about Ronaldo."

"I'm sorry, Ivonne, I didn't realize you enjoyed their bickering so much!" Sharpay stood and waved down the waiter, yelling, "Hello! We've been waiting on our calamari for minutes! Do I need to fry it myself?" She dropped back down in her seat and sent a partial smile, partial cringe across the table to Gabriella.

* * *

Gabriella made it a point to complain about her headache the entire walk back to the house. Then once they arrived, she went straight upstairs to her room without a single question. She pulled the thick curtains over the windows, changed into her pajamas, laid under the covers, and relaxed into the soft mattress.

When she finally woke from her nap, she was relieved the headache had almost entirely disappeared. She threw the curtains open and realized by the setting sun that she had slept longer than she thought. There was a knock on the door and she turned around. Ivonne seemed surprised to see her by the windows. She explained, "Sharpay wanted me to wake you. It's time for dinner."

"Thank you, I'll be right down." Gabriella changed into a short blue and white vertically striped dress and put on her sandals. She approached the vanity and put her hair into an elegant bun. When she reached the top of the stairs she overheard their voices and hesitated. She was well-dressed and beautiful, but she didn't feel ready. As much as she wished she could erase him from her life just as easily again, he was going to be down there. Accepting she'd never feel ready for this for the rest of the trip, she reluctantly went downstairs.

Her heart began beating harder in her chest when she passed through the darkness of the foyer into the bright dining room. Ronaldo was the first to notice her and exclaimed, "You made it!"

Troy's eyes landed on her for no longer than a millisecond before he averted them down to his plate. Gabriella said, "I heard there was food." She took her seat next to Sharpay and silently ate her meal there on the opposite end away from Troy.

* * *

Gabriella looked around the group of beautiful faces illuminated by flickering flames. Everyone listened as Viktor and Fabrizio reminisced about how they met in France when they were both backpacking across Europe. There was something about cows roaming through the village streets and a panicked farmer screaming after them to help put them back to the pasture. It was a tale the two of them found knee-slapping hilarious, but everyone else could only politely smile as they wheezed through the events of the story. Gabriella saw movement across the circle and watched Troy leave. She dared to follow.

He reached into the cooler on the side of the house and removed a can of beer. He flicked some of the ice off onto the patio and dropped the lid shut. He spun around and froze in place when he saw her.

Gabriella put on a big, friendly smile. In a voice that landed a couple octaves higher than normal she said, "You know, it's really crazy we're both here! I mean, what are the odds?"

He answered plainly, "Small world."

She was caught off guard by his disinterested tone. Obviously she wasn't nearly as excited to talk to him as she acted, but at least she was putting in  _some_  effort. The awkward silence was growing. She recovered and said as friendly as before, "We haven't really been able to talk to each other. How have you been?"

He said curtly, "Good. You?"

"That's good! I'm between jobs at the moment, but I like that. The possibilities are endless."

Troy nodded and said, "Okay."

As much as she didn't want to care, she felt hurt by his disinterest. She said, "You know, you've really turned into a man of very few words over the years."

"Yeah, sorry." He looked over her back to the bonfire like he wished he hadn't ever left.

"No, I guess this is supposed to awkward. What else could you expect running into an ex like this?" There was impending pause, but Gabriella felt compelled to ward it off. The first thing that came to her mind was their break up. She blabbered, "But even after all this time, I realized you were right."

He looked to her with exponentially increased interest. He said the last thing she ever expected. "Right about what?"

The thought that maybe he didn't remember everything suddenly dawned on her. Even though it was a scene she couldn't get out of her head since last night, maybe he hadn't thought about it in years. Now she was in the unfortunate position of reminding him. Unwilling to bring it up but unsure how to escape, she stood there staring at him and wishing she could disappear. He pressed, "Right about what, Ella?" She felt her mouth go dry. She could barely breathe under his scrutinizing stare. She quickly snatched a beer from the cooler and fled back to the bonfire.

She endured a couple hours of awkwardness, silently listening to the stories around the bonfire to distract herself. Troy was the first to leave, and Gabriella followed a couple minutes later. She went to her room and brushed her hair when Sharpay entered the room in her hot pink satin pajama set. She eagerly ran to the bed and took a seat on top with her legs curled underneath her and an excited smile on her face. "Tell me everything."

Gabriella sighed. "Honestly, I wish I could never speak of it again."

"Nonsense! I saw you smiling with him. It couldn't have been  _that_  bad."

"He was really tense and curt. And then I brought up the break up –"

Sharpay cringed in horror. "You brought up the break up? Gabriella, why the fuck would you ever do that?"

"I panicked! I thought I needed to keep talking and  _that_  was what came out. Even worse was that I told him he was right, and he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about."

"Sorry, but even I don't know what you're talking about. It's been a while since I heard the story. What exactly went wrong between the two of you?"

* * *

_4 ½ Years Ago_

She was ashamed of how cliché she had been acting. The romcoms on constant replay, the overflowing trash can of used tissues, the empty ice cream containers piled around her bed. She hadn't been to class since Monday morning, and had only left her bed to go to the bathroom and restock on sweets. She never understood why her friends would spiral like this whenever they had a break up. But this was different. This was  _her_  heart breaking into a thousand irreparable pieces. This was an end to the love of her life. This was her own torture, and even worse, this was entirely self-inflicted.

For the moment, she felt okay. These moods usually lasted about half an hour before the memories resurfaced and chipped away at what was left of her heart. She could take a steady breath without exhaling a sob, and that was all she could hope for. Her phone dinged and she looked at the screen, the sight of his name in bold text sent a nauseating wave of hot panic through her body. She opened the text and the long message unfolded.

_Ella – I'm struggling to understand everything from Saturday night. I've been replaying what you said in my head time and time again. Some things are starting to become clearer, but even those portions raise more questions. I think it would be good if we met up in person to talk things over again. I don't make this any harder on either of us. If what you said is true, it would be wrong of me to insist we stay together. I have to respect your decision. I would never want to take you away from caring for yourself. This would just be for closure, something I'm betting both of us would appreciate at a time like this. Are you available to meet now?_

She responded:  _Where?_

 _My dorm room._   _Chad will leave to give us privacy._

_I'll come over in three hours._

_Okay. Thank you._

After she showered, she picked out an outfit that was together enough to give the illusion that she hadn't completely fallen apart, but not so together that it looked like she was trying to impress him. She folded the sweatshirts and T-shirts he'd lent her over the semester and packed them in a paper grocery bag. After adding their photos and 'T' necklace, she walked over.

The whole journey to his dorm she was so anxious and scared she thought her heart might jump out of her chest, or she'd pee herself, or both. The anxiety reached its peak when she knocked on his door. She waited and raised her hand to knock again when the door opened.

"Hi," he said and nervously swallowed.

"I brought your sweaters." She offered out the bag.

"Thanks," he took it and held the door open wider. "Come in."

Gabriella stepped inside and looked around the small dorm room. It was cleaner than usual with all his videogames stacked in the storage box rather than scattered around the floor. The beds were made, something that never happened, and the desk in front of the window was clear.

"Wow. Never thought I'd be in here again." She gave a tense, humorless laugh.

He dryly responded, "Well me neither." She realized that he sounded congested as if he had recently been crying. He gestured to his bed and asked, "Should we sit?"

She sat on the end of the bed curled her legs underneath her, trying to push the thought that they'd had sex here countless times before from her head.

Troy sat next to her, careful not to touch, and said, "Well first, thanks for meeting with me. I guess we'll get into it." His hand shot up behind his neck, a gesture she'd learned he did whenever he was nervous. "Why don't you want this anymore?"

"It scares me, Troy. We're only eighteen. This isn't supposed to happen already."

"You think you shouldn't fall in love at eighteen?"

"No, but I should have learned to put myself first before getting this involved with someone else. I'm supposed to be curious about the world and travel abroad and meet interesting new people. But all I want to do is stay here with you. It's not a healthy attachment any more. I need to learn to be on my own and grow again."

Troy closed his eyes before dropping his head into his hands. She heard his breathing, deep inhales and exhales like he was consciously trying to control it. When he finally looked back up at her, his eyes looked glossier and the whites redder. "I don't understand why we can't grow together."

"This a journey I need to take on my own. It's going to be what's best for the both of us."

"I don't think this is a journey you need to take alone, but I know you're not going to change your mind. I just hope you're right."

The room remained silent for some time. Gabriella was beyond uncomfortable, growing self-conscious of every small noise and twitch her body made. She finally asked, "Did you have any other questions?"

"Yeah. There's one last thing I want to ask you, and I haven't figured out a way to say it so that it doesn't sound pathetic as hell. But…can we have one last kiss?"

She quickly answered, "No."

"Okay then, one last thing, and I really mean it this time. I'm a sentimental guy, as I'm sure you've learned." He reached into the drawer inside his night stand and pulled out an envelope. "I wrote you something that I want you to read whenever you're struggling." She took it from him and put it in her back pocket, then went over to the door.

Troy followed her and said, "When we think about the last things we ever said to each other, I don't want you to remember my questions, or the answers, or anything that'd bring you pain. I want you to remember how I felt about you and what you meant to me. I want you to remember this." His fingers laced through the soft hair behind her ears, his thumbs rested on her cheeks, and his palms held her jaw. He crouched down to her height and leaned in inches away from her until all she could see was his face. Afraid he would try to kiss her, she grabbed him by his forearms. He paused for a moment as if he was waiting for the memory to start recording. His eyes drilled into hers with focus, and he delivered his final words with clarity and intent. "Ella, I love you."

He lowered his hands, stood up straight, and waited for her words.

Gabriella responded in a small voice strained with sadness, "I know."

* * *

Gabriella watched Sharpay's jaw drop open and lock in place. After she recovered enough to move it again, she asked in utter disbelief, "You said 'I know'?" Gabriella nodded. Sharpay laughed incredulously. "You can forget all about your sexy reunion. Holy shit, I don't know how he can even breathe the same air as you."

Gabriella frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sharpay threw her hands up in the air and thumped them down on the mattress in frustration. Gabriella realized this was apparently supposed to be obvious. "That's fucking terrible! This man wanted to create one final memory for you. Something that would encapsulate your entire relationship. He delicately holds you in his hands and proclaims his love to you. I nearly cried just hearing about it! And what do you say? What was the big memory you gave him? You said, 'I know'. Not 'I love you, too'. You said, ' _I know'_!"

Gabriella crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "You're making this into something way bigger than it needs to be. I just couldn't say it back in that moment. He knows I loved him. It's not that big of a deal."

"No, your final words to each other were a big deal – a big  _fucking_  deal. It might not have mattered to you, but it obviously did to him. You seem to be completely overlooking that."

"Look, if he wants to be sentimental, that's his choice."

"Holy shit. You  _still_  don't get it!"

Gabriella defensively said, "There's nothing more to get!"

"Hold on, did you ever date anyone else after Troy?"

"Not seriously."

"Did you date anyone before him?"

"No."

"Well there's our problem. You need some perspective!" Sharpay stood at the end of the bed and took a long inhale like she did before preforming on stage. She said, "This is a reenactment of how every break up goes…Girl: I want to break up. Guy: Well I fucking hate you, you stupid stuck up bitch. Girl: I fucking hate you too, you mega douche. Guy: I hope I gave you the herpes I contracted after I cheated on you with that fat stripper! Girl: I'm going to cut off your micropenis so no other women has to endure your unsatisfactory, thirty second instant sex! Guy: I'm going to send every nude you ever sent me to all our mutual friends! Girl: I'm taking the dog and putting it down! Guy: Something awful. I ran out of ideas. But, you get the point, right?"

"Is the point that some people are terrible?"

"No! This isn't a break up between two  _horrible_  people; this is a break up between two  _normal_  people. And not the divorces twenty years in the making. This is a couple who were as in love as you and Troy. A couple  _more_  in love than you and Troy, if you can believe that. People more in love and who dated longer. Normal people who turn into vindictive homicidal maniacs towards the person they hoped to spend the rest of their lives with.  _That_ is a normal break up. So now, do you  _finally_  understand why what Troy did for you was so unimaginable?"

Gabriella stared off thoughtfully into space, considering everything Sharpay had explained. She finally said, "I have to talk to him."

Sharpay asked, "And say what?"

"Apologize."

"Given how you handled the conversation at the bonfire, I think it's best you spare the both of you and never speak of it again."

"We met here for a reason. I'm not going to let this chance go to waste. We're going to sit down, talk, and everything will be resolved. No complications, no hard feelings." As much as Gabriella acted like this could be a quick fix, even she knew deep down that it sounded too easy to be true.


	3. Despicable Genius

With the relentless guilt swirling inside her, Gabriella tossed and turned in her bed for hours. Once the time showed four in the morning, she gave up. She went downstairs and opened the fridge to find containers of pasta, salad, and sauces. She removed an alfredo and a fettucine, heated it up on the stove, and took a seat at the dining room table. She grabbed the newspaper, but quickly realized it was all in Italian, and therefore of no use to her. She scrolled through her phone instead, accompanied by the growing light outside slowly sneaking up on her.

She was carrying her dirty dishes to the kitchen when she heard a noise from the front door. Setting her dishes on the island counter, she went into the foyer to investigate. When she turned the light on, she spotted one envelope on the floor beneath the front door with beautiful cursive handwriting spelling the words: _To the Blonde._

          As she picked it up, she heard a man’s voice say behind her, “What do you have?”

          She jumped and turned around to face Ronaldo. She teased, “Looks like Sharpay has a secret admirer,” and offered it to him. He took the envelope from her and read it for himself.

          Without any indication of concern on his features, he turned towards the kitchen and tore it up. He dropped the pieces of the letter into the trashcan, turned to Gabriella and said, “Don’t tell her about this.” He left upstairs as Gabriella remained concerned and confused in the foyer.

* * *

 

Later that morning after a few hours of sleep, Gabriella happily entered the life of the Insta-famous. Everywhere she looked were models running around the harbor with photographers and equally attractive entourages chasing after them. There were sailboats and yachts of every size overflowing with music and laughter. The magnificent sun glistened off the blue sea and the breeze rolling in was a gentle and soothing sensation.

 The guys walked together ahead of the girls who followed in the same formation as yesterday. But the rich bystanders at the harbor were well accustomed to the beauty and confidence their wealth could afford. Each of them had a Sharpay of their own, so the inflated confidence that set them apart yesterday actually helped the girls blend in today.

When the group came to a sudden halt and Sharpay loudly gasped, Gabriella cut through the others to find Ronaldo pointing behind him to a yacht marked _S.S. Sharpay_. Sharpay cried out, “A yacht?”

Ronaldo said, “The most beautiful vessel on the sea. I named her after you.”

“I can’t believe this.” She was so stunned she didn’t move when Ronaldo put her arms around her and began kissing her. “Oh my god,” she repeated time and time again as she toured the yacht. The expression of complete surprise was locked on her face all the way until they were out at sea.

Gabriella dropped her head back and let the sun kiss her exposed face, chest, abdomen, and legs. She bathed in the warmth as the sound of Ronaldo and his relatives’ beautiful Italian words floated around her. With a mimosa in her hand and a picturesque view of the cliffside city in the distance, Gabriella was finally on vacation.

A presence joined her, but she just closed her eyes and pretended everything was still alright. The words, “Troy’s alone,” from Sharpay’s mouth felt like a slap back to the real world.

Irritated beyond reason, Gabriella snapped, “Can’t I catch a break for one minute?”

Sharpay raised her hands in defense and said, “Hey now, _you’re_ the one who needs to apologize to him. Now might be your only chance for a while. Just get it over with.”

Gabriella knew she was right. The quicker she took care of the situation, the sooner she could relax without the stress of being indebted to him. She chugged the rest of her mimosa and handed the empty glass to Sharpay. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and went inside the cabin.

He was sitting on the bench across the table, twisted at the torso to peer out the back window. She approached the table and pulled out a stool, the sound of it dragging across the tile causing him to turn around. He showed no hesitation as he grabbed his drink and walked towards the door. “Troy,” she called. He slowly, reluctantly turned around to face her. Gabriella moved to close the space between them and said, “Is it alright if we talk?”

“That depends.”

“Still two-word-Troy, huh?” She tried to force a smile, but couldn’t manage one underneath his irritated expression. “That’s okay. You don’t have to say anything, but I’d like you to listen. The last time we talked, _really_ talked, you were so incredibly kind to me. It was something I never realized I was taking for granted until this trip. I should have said how I really felt, but I didn’t, and I’ll always regret that. I’m so sorry, Troy. I know you probably want nothing to do with me, but if I can ever make it up to you in any way at all, please let me.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her with a suspicious eye. “Okay, I thought of something.” He smiled and asked, “Can I have that kiss now?”

          Her ears played a trick on her. His voice got lost in the sound of the whirling propellers. She hallucinated the whole thing. Whatever it was, there was no way on Earth he said what she thought she heard. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

          “Years ago I asked you for one final kiss, right?”

          “Yeah, so?”

          “ _So_ …I want it. Now.”

          “But we haven’t seen each --”

          Troy interrupted, “You asked me for anything you could do to make it up to me. Let’s kiss and we’ll call it even.”

“Just a kiss?”

          He chuckled. “Yup.” It was the weirdest request he could have made, but maybe that was the point. He was trying to make things weird. He seemed to be enjoying her discomfort so far. In all reality, it probably wasn’t the worst thing he could have come up with.

          Gabriella reluctantly agreed, “I guess.”

          When he stepped up to her, she shyly titled her head up towards his and felt so small. He leaned in and she closed her eyes. His lips were just as soft as before, but she willed herself not to enjoy it. She began pulling back, but she lost her breath and willpower when he held her tight against him. He put his hand behind her neck as he pressed his lips firmer into hers. He grabbed her ass, he pressed his pelvis into hers, and pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth. She kept her eyes closed and savored the last of his touch as he slowly began to separate from her, saddened to lose the feeling of eighteen again.

          She opened her eyes when he had completely released her and saw him intently watching her. Speechless and stunned, she stared back at him. The door opened behind her and Troy walked out. With her feet still glued to the floor, Ivonne maneuvered around her, digging through the cabinets and retrieving the wine opener to pour herself a glass. She looked to Gabriella and asked, “Are you okay? You look sea sick.”

          “I’m fine,” she lied.

* * *

 

          When they returned to the house, Sharpay demanded all the girls come to the living room immediately, and likewise banished all the men to the garage. Emma, Lea, Jackie, and Tiara sat in a line on the couch, Ivonne kicked her feet up in the recliner, and Gabriella and Sharpay each had their own armchair. Sharpay dug her nails into the armrests with a far-off, detached stare aimed at the floor. Her typically tan face had fallen to a pale shade. She asked in a small voice, “What do we think about the yacht?”

While all the others except Ivonne argued whether it was big or fast enough, Gabriella watched her best friend and grew concerned for what was happening to her. The Sharpay she thought she knew wouldn’t question a man’s generosity. She always loved presents and attention, and Ronaldo seemed able to supply as much as she would ever want. It forced Gabriella to question what was so wrong with him that she still hesitated to accept his proposal. Could the mysterious letter Ronaldo shredded have been related? Why does the yacht matter? Something didn’t add up or was missing entirely. Gabriella’s voice forcefully cut through the bickering. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Sharpay snapped out of her trance and asked, “What?”

“It doesn’t matter how fast or large the yacht is. The fact that he got you a yacht at all is every girl’s secret fantasy. That’s obviously not the problem. He seems plenty nice and respectful. Nothing I’ve witnessed so far seems less than perfect, but you’re not accepting his proposal for a reason. There’s something you haven’t told us.”

Sharpay’s fingers found her lips and she chewed on the nails. “I love Ronaldo and that should be enough, but…”

“But?”

“There are sides of him that I don’t love. Temperamental sides.” Sharpay crossed her arms and sunk into the armchair. It was like she shrunk into a frightened little girl before Gabriella’s eyes. She had never seen her so vulnerable before and truthfully, it frightened her.

Tiara instructed her, “You have to look at the cost of things. Although he has a temper, he’s spent millions of dollars on you. Is a yacht, this house, the vineyard, and the stocks worth a man who occasionally raises his voice at you? If it were me, I would already be married and have a baby on the way.”

Ivonne said, “Respect is a right in a relationship, you don’t put a price on it. You should automatically be given it. I wouldn’t accept his proposal until he starts to consistently treat you how you deserve to be treated.”

Gabriella said, “I agree with Ivonne.”

Tiara rolled her eyes and checked her nails, but Sharpay momentarily looked panicked like she finally realized what she had gotten herself into. Just as quickly as her fear appeared, it blew away. As if she never brought up this topic in the first place, she casually suggested they go to the beach.

Gabriella went upstairs as if she were changing, but locked the door and texted Sharpay to tell her she wasn’t feeling up to it. Less than a minute later, she heard the distinct clipping of Sharpay’s Louboutins stomping across the wood floor to her room. They halted on the other side of the door, but she didn’t knock. Gabriella imagined Sharpay placing her hands on her hips as she stood tall and said, “I know you’re in there.”

“I have a headache.”

“Bullshit!” She tried the handle and gasped. “Gabriella, unlock the door!”

Gabriella opened the door and said, “You can’t drag me out of the house, you know.”

“Watch me,” Sharpay said as she passed Gabriella into the room. She sat on the bed and said, “None of the guys are coming with us, if that’s what you’re concerned about. How did the talk go, anyway?”

Gabriella was amazed at how she had suppressed the memory from this morning until now. “He kissed me.”

Gabriella stared at Sharpay staring back at her with an unrecognizable expression. She was surprised and indifferent, impressed and disappointed, excited and scared. Finally, Sharpay said, “That man is a genius.”

          “Why? Because the kiss will make us get together again?”

          Sharpay’s eyes locked wide open. “My god, he’s good! You don’t understand what I mean. He’s an _evil_ genius. A despicable genius.”

          “What are you talking about? It was perfect. I don’t even know how to describe it. It made my toes curl! I felt like I was eighteen again.”

          “That’s exactly what it was supposed to do! Gabriella, he’s playing with you.”

          Gabriella scoffed. “No, he isn’t.”

          “Remember that vindictive homicidal maniac normal people turn into when their heart gets broken? You just met your first one.”

          “No, that’s not Troy. You said it yourself. He’s different, unimaginable.”

          “That was Troy before you gave him a dose of ‘I know’. You’re not eighteen anymore, and you’re not getting a second chance! You’re the girl who broke his heart. This is revenge…ice cold revenge.”

          “Whatever. You’re just cynical.”

          “Believe what you want, but don’t come crying to me!”

          They heard a stampede in the hallway when Tiara, Lea, Emma, and Jackie ran into the room and gathered around Sharpay on the bed. Ivonne lingered in the doorway with her tall figure leaned against the frame. Lea chirped, “We’re ready!”

          “We’ll be right down. Go wait for us in the dining room.” The girls obeyed and left the two alone again. Sharpay asked, “So are you coming?”

          “Are you making me?”

          Sharpay smiled and pulled her hot pink sunglasses over her eyes. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

* * *

 

          They laid out their towels on top of the hot sand and unpacked mason jars full of yogurt, berries, and water. Gabriella stayed behind to lather up on sunscreen while the others fearlessly ran out into the water. She curled her legs underneath her and leaned back on her elbows, then dropped her head back for the sun to bake her chest. She breathed in the salty air from the sea and felt transported back to the yacht.

          She sat up straight and dropped her head to stare at the pattern on the towel beneath her, losing herself in the thoughts. The kiss and its implications were so perplexing. Perhaps he missed her and wanted a taste of what they had before, but nothing more than a brief trip down memory lane. Or he wanted to pick up where they left off all those years ago. Or it was revenge like Sharpay had said. If his intention was to confuse her beyond reason, he had certainly succeeded.

Gabriella watched Ivonne retreat from the water, the sea still chasing and nipping at her ankles. She came up and grabbed a granola bar from the beach bag. Without looking at Gabriella, she said, “I’ve been ordered to come get you.”

Gabriella shielded the sun from her eyes as she looked up to Ivonne. “Or I could fake diarrhea and go back to the house.”

She plopped down next to Gabriella, stretching her long dark legs out in front of her. “That would just be too convenient. I’ve been thinking about faking a family emergency just to go home. I’m losing braincells listening to Tiana, Lee, Emily, and Jacklyn.”

“I thought it was Tiara, Lea, Emma, and Jackie.”

“See? I can’t tell any of them apart anyway. Except the British one. She’s _unique_ , and I don’t mean that as a good thing.”

Gabriella smiled. “I’m glad Sharpay has at least one other sane friend beside me.”

“You know, I have been thinking the same exact thing about you.”

Gabriella reached her feet over the end of her towel and dragged her toes through the hot sand. “What do you think Sharpay’s going to do about Ronaldo?”

“I think it’s none of my business. Sharpay is hilarious and honest and I love her for that, but she needs to grow up and make this decision on her own. I can be concerned for her, especially after what she said about his temper, but it’s not my decision. I’m not going to have to live with him for the rest of my life. I think all us being here to help her decide is a waste of time.”

“I’m here because she’s paying a lawyer for me. I thought it’d be a perfect vacation. She made this place seem like paradise when we Skyped. Now I find out the boyfriend isn’t so perfect, and worse, my ex is here.”

“Who’s your ex?”

“Troy. The blue-eyed one everyone was drooling over.”

“I bet that’s awkward, huh?”

“You could say that.” Gabriella stretched her legs in front of her, laid flat on her back with her hands covering her eyes, and heavily sighed.

“Don’t let him ruin this for you. It’s a big house. You’ll find ways to avoid him.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know if I want to.”

Ivonne wiped the crumbs off on her thighs and stood up. She said, “Whatever it is, you don’t have to worry about it for now. C’mon.” She reached out her hand. “The water’s wonderful.”

Gabriella smiled and held Ivonne’s hand as they ran together into the sea with the others. She let go and dropped into the water, letting the waves wash away every worry.

* * *

 

Later that same day, Gabriella came downstairs to find a tall, slender man dicing sweet peppers in the kitchen. He had a thick, semi-curly head of dark brown hair and a slight bump half way down his nose like Ronaldo. She said, “Well, you must be the chef of the family.”

          He responded in a thick Italian accent, “I am Leonardo. I cook, but I am no chef.”

          “You could have convinced me. The pasta we had my first night was absolutely delicious. Perfectly al dente!”

          “Al dente? Do you speak Italian?”

          “Not at all, unless you count _fettucine_ , _spaghetti_ , and _amore_.”

          “Food and love. That’s about all you need to know.”

          Gabriella examined the pot on the stove as the thick, creamy substance slowly rolled over itself in a lazy boil. “What are you making now?”

          “Improvising. Here, tell me what you think.” He scooped out a spoonful of the sauce, and Gabriella reached out to take the spoon, but he held it up to her lips for her. Taken back, Gabriella reluctantly opened her mouth.

          It was so good that her eyes rolled halfway back in her head and she said, “It’s magical.”

          “Thank you kindly.” He went into the fridge and shuffled things around a bit before asking, “How are we out of garlic?” He closed the refrigerator door and flipped up a note pad stuck on the stainless-steel exterior. He tugged off one of the pages and shoved it into his pocket. “I’ll be back. Can you watch the sauce?”

          “Where are you going?”

          “There’s a farmers’ market in the town square. I need to buy the garlic and ingredients.”

          “Can’t I go with you?”

          Leonardo nervously glanced from side to side. “I’m not sure. I wouldn’t want to take you away from your friends.”

          “They are not my friends. I mean, Sharpay is of course, but even she and I have different interests. Trust me, you’re not taking me away from anything I haven’t already been avoiding myself.”

          “I suppose then it wouldn’t hurt anything. Meet me out front.”

          “Thank you, Leonardo.” Gabriella grabbed a light jacket from her room and ran out to the driveway.

Leonardo walked out from the side of the house pushing an electric scooter. He tossed her a helmet and said, “Sorry if it messes up your hair, but safety first!”

          Gabriella laughed. “You’ve been around Sharpay too long. I couldn’t care less.” She gathered her hair in one handful and twisted it around itself before slipping the helmet on over the squished bun. She used Leonardo’s shoulder to balance as she swung a leg over the back of the bike and climbed on. She locked her arms around his waist as he accelerated down the street.

          They zigzagged through tight alleys and impossibly narrow streets. Gabriella realized there were no signs designating the one-way streets and was grateful to be with a native who instinctively knew them. She looked around in wonder at the old, but beautiful shops and buildings. Suddenly the smooth pavement underneath the bike transitioned into bumpy brink and a yelp of surprise escaped her mouth.

They drove past the gathering of parked scooters and pulled into a tight spot between two cucumber stands. She clumsily stumbled off the bike and secured the helmet straps around her forearm. Leonardo said, “This way,” and led her to an herb stand.

Gabriella let the beautiful sound of Italian hover over her as Leonardo and the farmer spoke gorgeously in their native language. She realized they were probably haggling but liked the sound of it just as much. After Leonardo had two large bags of oregano and thyme, he crossed the busy market to the garlic stand. As she waited, Gabriella caught sight of the best-looking fruit she had ever seen in her life. The strawberries were massive and a vibrant red, the mangoes looked equally as appetizing and the assorted berries appeared to be bursting with juice. She wandered from Leonardo and stepped beneath the shade to inspect the fruit closer. She bent over the stand to inhale the sweet scent when a woman said beside her, “Your friend is in danger.”

          She slowly turned to look at the woman who was staring hypnotically at the berries. Her hair was contained in a yellow scarf that dropped all the way down to her boots. Although it was nearly eighty degrees with no breeze, she was wearing jeans, a coat, and gloves. “What did you say to me?”

          The mysterious woman lowered her voice to a whisper and said, “It isn’t safe. Not while he’s here. We’ll meet here again at sundown.”

          “Meet you? I don’t even know you!” The moment Gabriella raised her voice, the woman took off and disappeared into the crowd. Gabriella studied everyone passing by and stood on her toes to try to find her again. She jumped when a hand grabbed her arm.

          Leonardo removed his hand and said, “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

          “Yes, I was just…never mind. Are you ready to leave?”

          He raised his bag of food to show her. “Let’s go.” He led her over to the bike while Gabriella looked around to find the woman again.

* * *

 

          The moment they arrived at the house, Leonardo turned on the pot of sauce again and began cutting up the onions and garlic. Rushing to warn Sharpay, Gabriella quickly put the groceries away and turned to leave when the woman in pink appeared in the foyer. She crossed her arms over her chest and asked, “Where have you two been?”

          Gabriella responded, “The farmers market.”

          “Leonardo, don’t steal my friend from me.” Leonardo looked over his shoulder at Gabriella with a smirk that said _I told you so_.

          Gabriella said, “It was my idea.”

          “You missed our shopping spree!” When Gabriella shrugged, Sharpay pinched her on the arm until she yelped.

          Gabriella batted her hand away and asked, “What’d you do that for? I wouldn’t have wanted to get anything anyway.”

          “Then what do you plan to wear to the art gallery tomorrow night?”

          “I brought a nice dress!”

          “It’s a black tie event.”

          “It’s my old prom dress.”

          “ _Prom dress!_ Are you _trying_ to embarrass me?”

          Gabriella rolled her eyes. “Can’t I just borrow something of yours if it’s that big of a deal?”

          “You’re missing the point. I don’t want you to borrow one of my dresses. I wanted to find a dress with all my friends, but instead you just avoided us. I didn’t invite you here to run off with Leonardo, no offense Leonardo.”

          Leonardo said before slurping a spoonful of sauce. “None taken.”

          Gabriella said, “I didn’t think about it and I’m sorry. I promise I won’t avoid girl time again, but I need to speak with you.”

          Gabriella pulled Sharpay into her room, locked the door, and said, “I’m sorry if this worries you, but something happened at the farmers market that I think you should be warned of.”

          “Oh my God, what is it?”

          “There was this woman who came up to me and said, ‘Your friend is in danger.’ Do you know what she could be referring to?” Gabriella studied Sharpay as she ran her fingers through her hair and frowned. “Also, there was also an envelope that came in from the door early yesterday morning. Ronaldo ripped it up before I could give it to you.”

          “To the blonde?”

          “Yes!”

          “I know exactly who that was.” Sharpay shook her head and took a seat on the end of Gabriella’s bed. “The person who talked to you at the market and sent that letter is my stalker. She’s Ronaldo’s ex. She’s been obsessed with us since the day I moved in. She messaged me on Facebook with all these ridiculous lies about Ronaldo and his family and their businesses. The things she’s claimed are so revolting and absurd. She’s tried saying just about anything to get me to leave him so she can have him for herself.”

          “Sharpay, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

          “Don’t apologize. I needed to know she’s doing it again. You said Ronaldo tore up the letter?” Gabriella nodded. Sharpay shook her head and angrily said, “He doesn’t understand that ignoring her won’t make it go away.” Sharpay stormed down the hallway, but Gabriella remained in her room. She closed her door and sat on her bed before hearing their powerful yells through the walls.

* * *

 

Throughout dinner and clean up, Gabriella felt Ronaldo’s stare draw over to her time and time again. When she set the last stack of plates on the counter for him to clean, he quietly said her name. “Hold on.” He wiped his hands off on the towel and spoke softly to her, “I thought we had an agreement.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to anything.”

He chuckled and leaned against the counter like he was supposed to be acting relaxed. “Remember when we found the letter, and we weren’t going to tell Sharpay?”

She glared at him for his patronizing tone. “I know exactly what you’re referring to, but it wasn’t an ‘us’ decision.”

“I didn’t want you to keep it a secret for no reason. You haven’t seen how much it bothers her. She worries about it all the time. She didn’t need to know about it.”

“Well, let’s just agree to disagree.”

She began to turn away when Ronaldo said, “You can’t believe everything you hear. This town is overrun by crazies.”

The hair on her arms stood on end and she crossed them over her chest. As she entered the foyer, she said, “It’s getting late.”

His voice echoed up to her, “Sleep well.”


	4. Redefining 'Complicated'

Gabriella put on the only pair of spandex shorts she packed and an old T-shirt from kids’ day camp that somehow still fit. She set her converse sneakers on the floor next to her bed, turned off the light, and cuddled up underneath the covers. With her eyes fixated on the line of light draining in beneath the door from the hallway, she waited.

When the lines of light outlining her door suddenly disappeared and a door shut from afar, she pulled back her covers and pushed her feet into the sneakers and blindly tied the shoelaces. She lightly stepped over to the window in her room and looked out at the sun lowering over the sea. She could still make it if she hurried. Moving slowly and silently on the tips of her toes, she descended the staircase and snuck out the back door to the patio.

She crossed through the luscious green grass in the lawn and followed the same route Leonardo had taken her on the electric scooter, except all the shops were vacant and the restaurants were cleaning up. Out of breath and with blisters forming on her heals, she finally reached town square. Only a sliver of light shined from the once vibrant and hot sun as it descended beyond the sea. She took a seat on a wooden bench in front of a shoe store and waited for the mysterious woman in all her coats. She glanced around the old buildings and paced the sidewalk for a half an hour after sunset before accepting that the woman wasn’t going to come.

Ignoring the aches of her feet and the irritated skin, she sprinted through the alleys and passageways. There was an uncomfortable eeriness to the city now that the sky was black, and the dim streetlamps provided poor, inadequate lighting. She ran faster and faster to avoid the shadows and the presence she could feel lurking in them. By the time she could see the house at the end of the road, her mind started playing tricks on her. She imagined a gloved hand reaching out behind her, the fingertips hovering over the locks composing her ponytail, ready to snatch. She looked over her shoulder to make sure her imagination wasn’t warning her and saw headlights zooming down the road. Her eyes followed the car as it passed before she accidentally kicked a metal trashcan into the street. She gasped and murmured to herself, “Shit!” A dog barked and a neighbor’s door opened, so she crouched down out of sight and retrieved the can and its spilled contents from the street. The neighbor stomped down from their front stairs and yelled in Italian, so she yelled back, “I’m sorry!” and ran off to the house.

She snuck in through the door leading out to the patio and removed the sneakers from her sore feet, wincing as they rubbed against her blisters. She went upstairs and laid on top of her unmade bed, stared at the ceiling and tried to make the new piece fit the puzzle. The woman flaked, but that didn’t mean she was automatically a crazy stalker like Ronaldo and Sharpay claimed. Something still wasn’t right. Gabriella’s eyes fluttered and lost focus as she faded out of consciousness, resolved that tomorrow she would find more answers.

* * *

 

Gabriella took a plate of sausage and eggs to the end of the table at her usual seat next to Sharpay who was carefully stirring her small cup of espresso. The men had their stares fixed on a new TV hoisted to the wall as the Italian newscaster gave his broadcast, but the girls mainly checked their phones since they couldn’t understand what was being said. Gabriella used her fork to toss around the eggs and sausage hunks without taking a bite. She had so many things she wanted to ask Sharpay, but no privacy. She was just stuck.

“What’s on Gabriella’s mind?” Sharpay asked.

“Huh?”

“You look… _concerned_.” She pointed her eyes towards Troy and back to her.

Gabriella shook her head and said, “I guess I’m just tired.”

Ronaldo said with his eyes still glued on the TV, “You were out awfully late.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with a suspicious glare. “Odd time to go running, isn’t it?”

Gabriella felt her stomach rise to her throat. “I- I’m sorry.” She stammered nervously. “I tried hard not to wake anybody. Guess I was louder going in and out than I thought.”

With a friendly smile, Ronaldo switched back to the gentleman again. “No harm done. But you should have a chaperone with you. The city can be a dangerous place without someone to watch your back.”

Sharpay smacked his arm. “Stop that talk. You’ll make her worry. The city is plenty safe.”

Gabriella watched for when Ronaldo looked back to the TV and whispered to Sharpay, “I’m going to my room.” She took her plate with her to the sink and set it on the edge of the counter before going upstairs, aware Sharpay would notice everything. She stood to the side of the door and waited for the knock.

“Gabriella?” Sharpay entered. “Are you okay? You barely touched your plate.”

“I need to ask you about something, something I know you don’t want to talk about.”

Sharpay blinked and averted her gaze uncertainly. She took a seat on the edge of Gabriella’s bed, shook her head slightly, and shrugged. “Well if it makes you feel any better, you can ask me anything.”

Gabriella stepped close to Sharpay and spoke quietly as if they could be overheard. “The woman, your stalker, what did she say about Ronaldo? Like, what specifically?”

Sharpay laughed in surprise and relief. “Gabriella, is that really what you’re so concerned about?”

“Of course!” Gabriella turned defensive. “The woman told me you’re in danger and slid a warning note underneath your door, one that your boyfriend hid from you.”

“Gabriella, you have this all turned so upside down. Ronaldo wasn’t hiding anything from me.”

“But he told you she’s a crazy ex to discredit her and _make_ her out to be crazy. Seems to me like he has something to hide.”

“I promise you he’s not hiding anything.” Not the slightest more convinced, Gabriella crossed her arms over her chest. Sharpay said, “Come with me. There’s something you need to see.” Sharpay led Gabriella to her master bedroom and pulled out the drawer of her blush pink bedside table. She removed a thick stack of identical cards bound together by a rubber band. She pulled one out of the stack and took out the letter from inside. She offered Gabriella the unfolded letter and said, “Read.”

Gabriella took the letter and read the gorgeously penned words:

_To the beautiful Blonde -_

_I write this letter to you with the help of a professional translator. My English is terrible, and you must understand everything I tell you. Ronaldo is not the man you think he is. He’s a dangerous criminal. I have reason to believe the vineyard is a front for drug smuggling. I’m sorry this is the truth. I’m sorry he deceived you. I know how good he is at pretending to be an educated gentleman, but he’s not. He’s a monster. I thought I was special just like you before he turned on me. You are not safe with him. He cannot keep the truth from you forever_

_\- M_

Gabriella folded the letter back over onto itself and looked to Sharpay who offered out another “And this one,” Sharpay said.

_To the beautiful Blonde -_

_I pen this letter to you with the help of a professional translator. My English is terrible, and you must understand everything I tell you. Ronaldo is not the man you think he is. He’s a dangerous criminal. I have reason to believe the vineyard is a front for drug smuggling. I’m sorry this is the truth…_

Gabriella looked up to Sharpay and said, “It’s the same thing.”

Sharpay handed her the rest of the large stack. “They’re _all_ the same thing.”

Gabriella took it and removed the letters from their envelopes, spreading them out across the comforter one after another, filling up half the king-sized bed. She looked over the replicas, each penned in the same neat handwriting with no variations.

Sharpay said, “These were just the early ones. I stopped keeping them when my rubber bands were breaking.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, _oh_. You see what I mean now? It’s legitimately crazy.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“About ten months. When I first moved here, I didn’t know anybody. So the first month was uneventful, but slowly as he introduced me to his friends and I started shopping everywhere, people noticed me more. I had been here too long to be a normal tourist anymore. They were curious and learned I was Ronaldo’s new American girlfriend. Word travels fast, and soon the stalker heard about me, too. That’s when the letters started showing up. I was freaking out about it. I wanted to go to the police, but Ronaldo said that’d make us look guilty because of what she’s accusing.”

“That’s preposterous!”

“That’s what I thought, but Ronaldo says that’s just Italy. It got really bad after I ignored her for a couple months. She was so persistent that she started sending two or three a day. It was like clockwork. Then one day a couple months ago, everything stopped. No more letters. This sounds weird, but I didn’t feel relieved. I was really concerned. She seemed so tortured by this, I thought maybe…it was too much to handle anymore. I had an appointment with my seamstress, so I went to the boutique for a new dress fitting when this woman approached me on the platform. She looked about our age but had these light green eyes that popped out from her tan skin and black hair. She tells me she’s my stalker’s little sister. She apologized on behalf of her family and says they’re so embarrassed by the whole situation. She assured me her sister was getting help at a psych facility. I said, ‘about damn time’ and paid for my things and got out of there. A couple weeks later the letters started up again. What a great job the psych hospital did, right? We told the postman to stop delivering them, so now she’s resorted to delivering them in the middle of the night.”

Gabriella opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it again so she could process everything. She tried to start, “How…what…did…” She released a frustrated grunt before saying, “What the fuck? Just, what the fuck?”

Sharpay shook her head. “I know. It’s so messed up.”

“Sharpay, I’m so sorry this is what it’s been like. Jesus, I can’t imagine trying to deal with the stress of that.”

“I don’t want to make it sound like everyday all day I’ve been crying about this. Positano is paradise. The city, the sea, the love; it’s all so marvelous. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. My life here is just a tad more complicated than I let on before.”

Gabriella let out a small laugh. “Understatement of the year. You must really love Ronaldo to put up with this.”

Sharpay nodded. “I do.”

* * *

 

In order to prepare the girls for the art gallery tonight, Sharpay gathered them all in her room after lunch for emergency outfit reconstruction. Gabriella considered pretending to have food poisoning but realized Sharpay would likely require evidence for her to be excused from such a flashy event. Now Gabriella stood in Sharpay’s walk in closet, staring at the full-length mirror built into the back of the door. She tilted her head to the side with a small admiring smile as she ran her hand down her side, feeling the beading from her chest transition into the flowy silk bottom.

Sharpay pounded on the door. “Let’s get this over with! What’s the damage?”

Gabriella opened it and stepped out in her former prom gown. “Well? What do you think?” She gave a quick spin.  

Sharpay pretended to throw up in her mouth and said, “There’s no way you can show up wearing _that_.”

Gabriella said, “This dress cost me nearly two hundred dollars!”

An awkward silence occurred as Sharpay tilted her head to the side in confusion. She finally said, “I don’t know what you mean by that.” Sharpay turned to the others and said, “Girls, we’re going to need to do a total makeover.” Jackie, Lea, Emma, and Tiara loudly squealed in excitement while Ivonne covered her ears. “But first, I need to find my vision.” Sharpay circled Gabriella like a hawk eyeing down its prey. She pinched where the sleeve ended on Gabriella’s shoulder and tilted her head. She brought her finger back to her chin in thought before dropping them to her hips and declaring, “I can work with it. Gabriella, strip. Tiara, find my sewing machine. Ivonne, bring me a water.”

Ivonne raised her eyebrows to her and said, “You want me to _what_?”

Sharpay corrected herself, “Jackie, bring me a water!” She clapped her hands together and everyone set off into motion. Ivonne helped pull the dress off over Gabriella’s head, and Tiara and Jackie nudged at each other in the doorway to be the first one in. Sharpay set up her sewing machine at the vanity and got right to work. Gabriella leaned over the pile of fabric and asked, “So what’s your big idea? I don’t want anything too short. Maybe knee length, but that’s it.”

Tiara grabbed Gabriella’s shoulders from behind and led her away from Sharpay’s work station. Gabriella jerked her arms out of Tiara’s grasp and snapped, “What?”

Tiara said, “You don’t interrupt an artist when they’re executing their vision!”

Gabriella lost any tolerance she had left for this girl and rolled her eyes right in front of her. She sat next to Ivonne in the little bench in front of the window overlooking the small garden in the back yard with the blue sea in the distance. Gabriella asked her, “Tonight should be fun, don’t you think?” The two looked towards Sharpay when they heard the loud sound of tearing fabric.

Ivonne raised an eyebrow. “You know you really haven’t struck me as much of an optimist. What changed? You and your boo get everything resolved finally?”

Gabriella felt her excitement deflate at the thought of Troy, and she hated how it controlled her. “No, that’s still exactly how I left it. I was concerned about Sharpay, but she reassured me and I guess I just feel better now.”

“Yeah, I’m not too concerned about it anymore, either. I trust her to know when it’s time to leave. Everybody has a limit. This might be the relationship that finally tests it, in which case it’s good for her to learn to stick with what she knows she deserves…I hope.”

“Done!” Sharpay rushed over to Gabriella with the other girls trailing closely behind. “Put it on.” Gabriella released the top half to enter from the bottom when the entire beaded portion fell to the floor.

“What the hell?” Gabriella asked, “Did I just break it?”

“No. It’s a two-piece.” Sharpay picked up the top and held it up to her chest, showing where the gold beading ended at her waist.

Gabriella’s eyes nearly bulged from her eyes and she said, “Sharpay! Why did you tear my dress in half?”

“It’s called fashion? You’re welcome!”

“I don’t want a two-piece! Honestly, what about me screams two-piece?”

“What’s wrong? You have the cutest little tummy I’ve ever seen!” Gabriella rolled her eyes, but Sharpay persisted, “Trust me! Just put it on. I obviously see something you don’t. You’re going to look magnificent in it.” Sharpay pushed the top piece into Gabriella’s hands.

Gabriella sighed and reluctantly put it all on. She shyly placed her hands over the inch of exposed abdomen. She cringed, “How bad is it?”

“See for yourself.” Sharpay pointed to the closet.

Gabriella went inside and shut the door to see, her jaw dropping open at her own reflection for the first time in her life. “Holy shit!” She proudly stood tall and admired the alterations from the removed sleeves and horizontal gap across her waist. 

Sharpay peeked in, “See? What did I tell you?”

* * *

 

Many hours later the girls all checked each other that their makeup was glamourous, their hair was gorgeous, and their dresses were positively pristine. Gabriella overhead Emma ask Ivonne, “Ivonne, isn’t a jumpsuit a little…masculine?”

“That’s the look I’m going for. Is there a problem with that?”

Emma blabbered, “N-No, I just thought maybe you’d want something more…I don’t know…”

Tiara finished her thought, “Traditional. Afterall, a dress is only proper for a woman.”

“I’m one for breaking tradition. It’s called trendsetting. Some may even call it… _visionary_.”

Tiara scoffed and turned her back on Ivonne. Ronaldo and the guys called up for them from the foyer, their blended complaints being that it was nearly time to arrive. Sharpay said, “Ladies, formation!”

Sharpay and Tiara walked together down the stairs first and Gabriella heard Ronaldo say, “My love, you are so beautiful!” Jackie, Emma, and Lea all went down next and Gabriella followed with Ivonne beside her. Gabriella stepped down enough to see past the ceiling to all guys wearing expensive tuxedoes and perfectly combed hair. She felt Ivonne nudge her and glanced over. Ivonne nodded her head down towards the guys and Gabriella looked back to see Troy staring at her with a surprised and slightly worried expression, but she couldn’t figure out what for.

“Wow!” Leonardo said to Gabriella once she was in the foyer. “You look so pretty!”

“Thanks. You clean up well, too.” Gabriella turned away to look for Sharpay when felt him handle her arm and suddenly looked down to see he had wrapped hers around his. She glanced up at him while he looked ahead and panicked for what to do. Right when she decided to remove her arm and hope nobody saw to save the both of them from embarrassment, she felt a gentle poke in her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Sharpay giving her a thumbs up. Gabriella reluctantly walked with Leonardo, arm and arm, out to the limousine.    

After an awkward ride to the gallery when Leonardo put his hand on her knee and she had to discretely push the sweaty palm off her, they arrived to the gallery. Countless other attendees were greeting Sharpay before they were even inside the building, and Gabriella finally saw the scope of Sharpay’s popularity in Positano. She found it more curious, however, how few people greeted Ronaldo and his family.

Once the group dispersed inside, Gabriella took advantage of the opportunity to define things between Leonardo and her.

“Hey,” she said quietly, hoping the murmurs of conversations around them would drown out theirs as well. “I just wanted to be clear with you about what’s going on between us. I think you’re very kind and I like you as a friend, but I don’t want to be your date tonight.” Leonardo opened his mouth to respond, but Gabriella quickly added on, “I didn’t want to reject you in front of everyone because I thought that’d be embarrassing for you. That’s why I didn’t say anything earlier. I’m sorry.”

Leonardo said, “No sorry. We’re friends.”

Gabriella immediately felt the relief cleanse her tense muscles. He went off towards the bar while she decided to see some of this art that Sharpay made such a big deal out of. The first painting she encountered looked like it could have been in a museum. The woman stood at the bottom of a waterfall with her soaked hair sticking to her back. Gabriella could hear the pounds of heavy water falling into the pond around her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She recognized the voice belonging to Troy and slowly turned around to face him.

She put on a smile and said, “Yes, it is. Excuse me.”

She stepped by him and went onto the next painting. As she looked at the image of a little girl in a blue sundress holding a basket of bunnies, she felt him stand behind her. After a couple tense moments when Gabriella lost her focus, he said, “You know if I were you, I wouldn’t get so close to anyone here. Honestly, it isn’t wise to get too close to people you can’t be with for much longer. You have to go home eventually.”

She looked to him and politely nodded. As friendly and unawkward as she could sound, she said, “Thank you for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Gabriella walked away again, this time back towards Sharpay and Ronaldo where she knew he wouldn’t want to keep talking to her. She refused to hear anything more from him that’d haunt her worse than he already was.  

* * *

 

After drinking bottles of wine with the others and watching Ronaldo bid hundreds of thousands of dollars on the art, the party finally had to end. Everyone packed back in the limousine and headed home as the men obnoxiously sung along to the Italian radio and the girls nearly peed laughing so hard.

Gabriella took off the two-piece and left it in a messy pile on the floor as she crawled into bed, still laughing to her drunk self about the songs. She looked up to the ceiling as the room spun around and around and her laughter slowly died down. It’d been so long since she was drunk, and she remembered too late how it could make her wildly horny at times. It was barely a thought before she turned her programming of carefully selected memories on replay.

She tortured herself with the memories, but the self-awareness didn’t stop her. She flipped over on her side and trapped the bundle of blanket tight between her thighs. She breathed heavily as if she had been forgetting to and stared out across the room. She was exhausting herself. She wanted to stop, or at least she told herself she did. But when another memory began to resurface, she lost herself in it all over again.

* * *

 

_Five Years Ago_

It wasn’t her idea, and she knew the police wouldn’t care for that excuse as they booked her for indecent exposure. She wanted to have something prepared to say because she knew when they got caught, she wouldn’t be able to think. And because _obviously_ they were going to get caught. But that was the best part, or so he said amongst the countless other things to convince her to agree to such an awful idea.

She zipped the jacket up her bare breasts and ran her hands across the visible outlines of her nipples. She apprehensively tugged at the bottom of her black ultra mini-skirt, one that easily could have belonged to a sexy maid’s Halloween costume.

He pulled the stretchy sweat pants over his bare ass and grabbed his wallet and keys. “You ready?”

She answered quickly, “No.”

He smiled, amused. “It’s going to be fun.”

“Yeah, for _you_. Apparently public humiliation is your kink.”

He laughed and pulled her closer to him by the end of her four-inch skirt. “Do this for me and I promise we’ll do yours next. Deal?”

“That would be a great compromised, except I don’t have a kink.”

“I don’t believe that for one second. I know you’re a freak about something. Honestly, anything you want. I promise.”

She looked to him and for a brief moment became afraid of her own willingness at the lengths she’d go to please him. But then he smiled and just like that her concern melted. She convinced herself he was worth it.

Her grip on his hands as he led her to the top level of the library was so strong she was turning both of their knuckles white. She followed him through countless rows of bookcases until he slowed their pace and began reading the topics laminated on the shelves. He stopped and whispered, “Right here.”

She read the shelf’s label aloud, “Anatomy?”

He smiled at her. “Seems fitting, right?”

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

He slightly bent over and placed his fingers on the outer sides of her legs right below where the skirt ended. “Alright, let’s go.”

He attempted to spin her around, but she resisted and asked, “Are you sure no one’s going to catch us?”

“Well…no.”

She bit her lip nervously. “Troy, I don’t know about this.”

“Please, Ella. We’re already here.”

Gabriella nervously looked from left to right down each side of the aisle. She sighed. “Just make it super quick, and I mean _super quick_.” She turned around to face the bookshelf just like they discussed and lifted her skirt a modest half-inch.

He chuckled and pulled the skirt from her hands before flipping it up to expose her whole bare ass. “Bend over,” he whispered hotly in her ear.

Gripping the shelf in front of her for balance, she obeyed. His tip traced up to her folds from behind. When he slid in and began thrusting back and forth, the reality of the situation became too stressful to ignore. Gabriella became so fearful they’d get caught that she began shaking, but Troy was enjoying himself too much to notice. He unzipped her jacket and groped her breasts, gently tugging on a nipple before reaching across to the other. He dropped his hand down to massage her clit, but she batted it away, afraid any rubbing would loosen her already weak and frightened bladder. But once his lips found the side of her neck, she felt herself melt over him. Her body opened wider and welcomed him with more wetness than ever before. She reached to the back board of the bookcase to brace herself against his thrusts, eager to feel him go harder and deeper. She closed her eyes and forgot about where they were, only focusing on the pleasure flowing from her.

* * *

 

Replaying the sensation again and again, she wiggled her thong down to her knees and ran her fingers up the opening of her pussy to her clit. She coated it in the wetness, gave it just enough pressure, and moved in small, circular motions. Her legs bent to either side with her feet digging into the mattress beneath her. She braced her pelvis upward as her felt for the opening again. Plunging in and out and in and out, she bit her lower lip as if that could keep her moans contained, but it didn’t.

It’d been too long since she’d been fucked - four and a half years too long. The memories alone had turned her on even more than when she was living it. And now he was just a few rooms over. She was done thinking. She was done guessing his intentions. In her drunken stupor, she decided to take it into her own hands and get what she needed.

She stepped out into the darkness of the hallway. Every bump in crevasse in the stucco walls lead her to his door. The urge grew stronger the closer she came to reliving their memories.

She turned the knob, pushed the door in, and stepped into the darkness. With the door held open in her hands, she listened to his even breathing. She thought of how this was so unlike her, but that made it much more thrilling. She shut the door and the loud breaths silenced. “Hello?” He slurred, but her heart was beating so fast she couldn’t respond. “Who is it?” The blankets shifted and the bed creaked. She blinked her eyes and held up her hands in front of her between the brightness of the lamp. She met his surprised eyes with hers and without a second thought, reached behind her back and unsnapped her bra.

His eyes immediately traveled down to her breasts and he kicked the covers off the side of the bed. Gabriella watched him as he raised up in the bed and brought his hand down on the bulge beneath his briefs. She approached the end of the bed, gripped the frame and climbed up, slowly crawling up the bed to straddle him. He went for her breasts first, grabbing both of them in his hands and kissing between them before choosing a nipple to gently bite.

Gabriella threw her head back and softly moaned at the sharp pleasure he elicited with his tongue circling her nipple. She tugged on his briefs and he quickly removed them so she could reposition on top. As she straddled him, she gripped his cock and slowly lowered herself down, feeling uncomfortably tighter than she remembered. She wanted to vigorously ride him back and forth like she had before in her memories but felt too much pain to move much than a couple awkward motions.

His hands snuck beneath her thighs and pushed her up and off him. Gabriella couldn’t contain her frown when she thought it was over, but he sat up and pulled her close to him before leaning over and getting her repositioned beneath him. She gasped and arched her back when he was suddenly inside of her again. He thrusted deep and eagerly, but the new position rubbed her clit better and gave her just as much pleasure. After a while, she released a loud moan and dug her nails into his back as she experienced an unforgettable climax.

After another round, Troy reached up to turn off the lamp. Gabriella took the cue and stood up to leave. She felt his hand grab hers and tug her towards him, but she pulled away and quietly left down the hall and went to sleep in her own room alone.


	5. Never Be The Same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I had some family problems that prevented me from finishing it sooner, but I also forgot to put it on this website too. I highly recommend whoever read this follow me on fanfiction.net as well. I'm under the username Sophia Anne Moore there.
> 
> In addition, follow me on Twitter for progress updates and to be notified when the next chapter comes out:  
> @SophiaAnneMoore

Gabriella hadn’t opened her eyes, hadn’t even fully regained consciousness, but an excruciating headache was already attacking at full strength. It pulsated from the back of her eyes all the way through her cranium in torturous waves of unrelenting ferocity. She slowly brought her hands up to her eyes to shelter them from the light, but the ache persisted through the darkness.

A wave of nausea slammed into her and she realized she had to get to the bathroom, _fast_. She walked through the painfully bright hallway with her eyes closed and her hands thrown along the walls to find her way. She reached the door and pushed it in, forgetting to shut it behind her as she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. She gasped when fingertips brushed the back of her neck, scooping up her hair for her. “It’s okay,” Ivonne said. “Let it all out.” She held Gabriella’s hair and patted her on the back.

Gabriella flushed the toilet and sat back on the tile. Her breathing was still heavy, and the nausea retreated, but the pain returned. She dropped her head into her hands and promised Ivonne, “I am never, _ever_ drinking again.”

“Mm hmm. That’s what they all say.”

“Are you two almost done?” Troy asked from the doorway. The sound of his voice made Gabriella’s empty stomach jump and her eyes nearly bulge out of her head. All at once, the memories from last night returned to her, smacking into her like a semi truck at full speed, and she couldn’t bear to see the damage. 

“C’mon, let’s get you back to bed.” Ivonne pulled Gabriella’s arm around her shoulders and walked her back to her room. “Can you feel the bed?”

“I’m hungover, not blind,” Gabriella said, falling from Ivonne’s grasp and onto the bed as gracefully as a heavy sack of potatoes.

“You sure sounded like it stumbling through the hallway like that. You really shouldn’t’ve drunk that much. I told you to hydrate.”

Gabriella didn’t respond. The thoughts fogged up her mind so badly she couldn’t register what happened around her anymore. The door shut and she groaned into her pillow. She slowly crawled through what happened last night, picking up a memory here and there, and placing them where they best fit together. She recalled walking through the hallway and how painfully tight it was with him inside her initially. But the most vivid of all the memories was when Troy was on top of her, his breath heavy, and his blue eyes finally connected with hers. It was as if it hadn’t been days since they reunited, but rather the first time all over again...The first time he looked at her as he had five years ago.

As much as she wanted to let the warmth of a rekindled flame melt over her, one unacknowledged piece kept her from believing this could be the start of the two of them again. They were both mind-numbingly wasted. She was uncharacteristically impulsive, but should that negate everything that happened?

Her headache antagonized her with another round of stabbing pain. She turned on her side away from the window to soothe the ache and drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

 

Gabriella awoke with a gasp when there was a loud bang on the door. Sharpay yelled, “It’s noon!” Gabriella quietly groaned and flopped over onto her back. The headache had significantly let up, but fatigue pinned her down against the bed in its place. Sharpay knocked louder and said, “Hello? Are you up?”

“I’ll be down soon.” The answer must have been satisfactory because she heard the clacks of Sharpay’s heals fade down the hallway. Gabriella lazily crawled from the bed, grabbed an outfit from her suitcase, and went to the bathroom for a shower. With her wet hair contained in a sloppy, soaked bun on top of her head, she went downstairs where Sharpay and the other girls were sitting in the living room, watching the laptop on the ottoman. She approached the couch and leaned back against the armrest. “What is this?”

“Queer Eye,” Jackie answered.

Gabriella watched as the man entered his redesigned house and was overcome with emotion, trying unsuccessfully to distract herself from the thoughts that eventually needed to be sorted.

Jackie gasped, “Look at that new bed frame! The rustic metal matches the wood just perfectly. Bobby always does such an amazing job.”

“I know someone else who could use new bed frames,” Tiara said as she nudged Sharpay.

Sharpay asked, “What are you talking about?”

Jackie giggled. “So I wasn’t the only one who heard it?”

Sharpay asked again impatiently, “Heard what?”

Jackie responded, “Very audible bed creaks coming from Troy’s room last night. I’m sure Lea could tell us all about it.”

“What do you mean?” Lea asked.

Tiara scoffed and said, “C’mon, don’t play dumb. It obviously wasn’t Sharpay, Jackie, or I. So tell us, how was it?”

“I wasn’t with Troy last night,” Lea said, “Ivonne?”

“Nope,” Ivonne laughed.

Sharpay suggested, “Maybe it was Alfonso.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Tiara scoffed, “Troy isn’t gay.”

Ivonne asked, “How can you tell?”

Lea awkwardly stammered, “You know, you - you just can.”

Ivonne said, “Oh really? I’d love to know how you do that…because you just asked me if I slept with him last night and _I’m_ gay.”

Tiara’s jaw dropped open and she asked, “Wait, what? _You’re_ a _lesbian_?”

Afraid she was next to be questioned about her whereabouts last night, Gabriella used the distraction to sneak away to the kitchen. She grabbed a cookbook from the shelf above the stove and sat down at the dining room table. She undid the wet bun and let the heavy, soaked locks fall down her back. With her damp hair soaking down the back of her T-shirt and no makeup to cover her exhaustion, she flipped through the pages.

An icy bead of water dripped off the tips of her locks and fell on the small of her back. She let the book snap shut and gathered her hair into one wet mess. She pulled it to the side of her head and wrung it out like a washcloth. She looked over at the water as it splattered on to the floor and slowly looked up to the figure standing in the doorway. 

Troy moved, retrieving a paper towel from the kitchen.

Gabriella stood and began to say, “I can clean-”

“I got it,” he said, separating the long strip of paper towels into two.

He knelt on the floor at Gabriella’s side and wiped up the water. Gabriella tried to look at the recipes again but felt Troy’s stare out of the corner of her eye. She met his stare with her own, their eyes level with each other and their faces only a foot apart. The image of his eyes lined up with the look he gave her last night. Finally, she softly asked, “Why are you staring at me?”

He responded, “You look like a painting.”

They remained locked in a trance, their eyes drilling into the others with enough intensity to make the world around them freeze. She had been here countless times before and recognized this same look from five years ago, lying on his bed or sharing a booth in the library. She could feel it in her heart and saw it happening as he raised his hand up to the side of her face. She knew exactly what was coming. Until finally, the doorbell rang.

Gabriella shot out of her seat like it burned her. As much as she wanted him, the uncertainty still blurring his intentions made her want to protect her heart more, no matter what it cost. She moved past Troy and yelled out, “I got it!”

Sharpay cut in front of her in the foyer and opened the door. “Gianni!” Sharpay cheered.

The man in a long, purple robe with eccentric, rainbow-dyed dreadlocks embraced Sharpay and kissed her once on each cheek. “My lady! So very kind of you to invite me,” he said in his Italian accent.

Ivonne asked from the doorway into the living room, “Who’s your friend?”

Sharpay called out, “Girls!” The others quickly filed in. “This is Gianni,  
 Sharpay introduced him, “He’s a fortune-teller.”

Gianni paced around the foyer, looking up the walls to the ceilings and all around. “The auras have always been so strong in this house, Sharpay. You always emit such radiance. I can sense it so clearly.” He winked to her before confidently striding into the living room. “Gather,” he ordered, perching himself up on the edge of the ottoman. He closed his eyes as the girls filled in the seats around him.

Sharpay said, “Jackie, you first.” She gripped her by her shoulders and led her to sit down in front of Gianni.

Gianni instructed, “Your hands, my dear. The future is written in the palm’s crevasses.”

"Okay,” Jackie awkwardly giggled and offered her hands to him, then subtly jumped once he began rubbing them.

Gianni’s brow furrowed in concentration. “Ah,” he said, “You will have new opportunities.”

“What kind of opportunities?”

He rubbed her hands deeper. “The opportunity to grow your knowledge.”

“I was planning on going back to school. I haven’t told anyone about it yet. How did you know?”

Gianni laughed in delight. “It’s all in the palm.” He pivoted to Tiara and reached his hand out.

Tiara hovered her hands over his before Gianni took them into his lap. “Hmm,” Gianni thought. “I see fear.”

Tiara scoffed. “I’m not afraid.”

“I see your presence fleeing.” Tiara rolled her eyes. “You won’t be allowed back if you choose to leave.”

Tiara took her hand back and shook her head.

Gianni turned to Ivonne next and said, “Yours.” He thought for a moment before saying, “Great adventure awaits in the North.”

Ivonne shrugged. “Oh. Neat.” She began to remove her hand when Gianni gripped it tighter.

“Are you not satisfied?” Gianni asked.

“This fortune telling thing isn’t really my thing. It’s nothing personal.”

“No, no. Let me read deeper.” Gianni pulled at her fingers and rubbed her palms and said, “I see a new presence in your life. A great friend who will be with you for years to come.” Ivonne looked over and shared a smile with Gabriella. Gianni continued, “Their trust in you will be tested, and you mustn’t fail. Both of your fortunes depend on it.”

Ivonne flatly said, “Thanks.”

Sharpay eagerly pushed her hands into Gianni’s. She closed her eyes and wished, “Give me good news.”

Gianni stroked the lines with the tips of his fingers. He said, “Your aura is…particularly brilliant. I haven’t seen this in you before. So vivid, so stunning. When I look at you, you _glow_.”

“How delightful!” Sharpay said.

Gianni pivoted again and already had Gabriella’s hand before she realized it was her turn. She suddenly became self-conscious of their clammy state. She didn’t believe in fortune-tellers or auras, but she knew the others did. He smiled and said, “I have just the news you’ve been waiting for. He’s the one.” She politely smiled and tried to withhold her blushing and said, “Thank you.”

Right when Gianni turned to take Lea’s hand, Ronaldo entered. Ronaldo stood above their hands and said, “Ah, I see the friendly neighborhood _sham_ is back. Wonderful. Who has the bad fortune this time?”

Gianni rose from the ottoman and tightened the ties of his robe around his barrel abdomen. “I’m afraid I must end our session.”

Sharpay said, “Gianni, please. Ronaldo was just _leaving_.” She glared at Ronaldo.

“Don’t fret, my dear. I can promise you this won’t be our last meeting, no matter who or what gets in the way.” Gianni crossed by Ronaldo whose dark eyes followed.

The door shut behind him and Ronaldo said, “Why do you waste money on those jokes? I could blindly guess at your future just as well as he pretends.”

Sharpay ignored him and said, “Let’s go ladies. We have a lunch date.”

* * *

 

The rosebushes pierced her tights and scratched the skin underneath as Gabriella accidentally stumbled into them. “Damn it,” she angrily murmured to herself. Her eyes had been directed towards the cliff as she followed the line ahead of her to the little café. They hadn’t traveled along the top of the cliffside until today, and the view of the sparkling blue water and houses below was so heavenly (and distracting) that she didn’t look to see where she was stepping.

“What’s the problem?” Sharpay asked from the front of the girls’ formation.

“Nothing,” Gabriella called back, “just bleeding out.”

“Are you okay?” Ivonne asked from Gabriella’s side. “That looked painful.”

“It’ll be alright.” They followed the others up a few stairs and into a little restaurant. The people inside looked to them, the obvious tourists, but some greeted Sharpay by name. As the blonde talked with some of the other tables, the rest of the group sat at the largest table out on the patio.

When Sharpay returned, everyone else was on their phones. Gabriella stared at the window into the restaurant and heavily sighed, so much still plaguing her mind.

“You feel her too, can’t you?” Sharpay shook her head and ran her finger around the rim of the empty wine glass on the table. “I can’t go anywhere in this town without feeling her eyes on me. Even from way up here I feel like she’s right behind me.”

Gabriella’s gaze refocused beyond Sharpay and met a pair of vibrant green eyes. She felt her own widen the side of saucers as she and the girl stared at each other before the girl turned away towards the water cart.

“What are you looking at?” Sharpay turned to look and clutched her chest. “Oh my God.” She spun around to face the table with her hands clawing at the armrests of her chair. “We need to leave.”

Tiara sneered, “Why?”

“Is it her?” Gabriella asked. The others at the table followed her eyes to the girl at the water cart.

Everyone stood as Sharpay hyperventilated when the woman finally turned around and froze with a tray of water glasses in her hands. When Sharpay saw who it was, she fell back into her seat. “It’s just her sister,” she said. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and fanned herself.

Gabriella and other girls remained standing, looking around the table at each other still wondering what to do. Sharpay finally opened her eyes ordered them, “Sit.” She then snapped her fingers twice in the air at the girl and pointed to their table. Gabriella watched as the frightened girl, no older than sixteen, approached their table. With a tremoring grip, she carefully lowered the glasses of water to each woman.

Gabriella went to take a sip when Sharpay grabbed the girl’s arm as she passed by. She pulled her back and held her at the elbow and asked, “Where is your sister?”

The girl responded in a small, shaking voice, “She’s not here.” She ducked her head as her green eyes became encircled in red.

“ _Don’t_ tell her. Do you understand me? You _don’t_ tell her I was here.”

The girl vigorously nodded her head and tried to pull away. Ivonne said, “Sharpay, please.” Sharpay released her grip and the girl fled through the kitchen doors.

Lea asked, “What was that about?”

Sharpay ignored the question and read the menu. The others quickly followed her lead, although none of them knew what the menu had since it was in Italian. A different waiter came by to take their order and help them translate. After the table fell awkwardly quiet again, Gabriella checked her phone.

“We know it was you.” Tiara said, but Gabriella didn’t register who she was talking to. “You were the one with Troy last night, Gabriella.” She finally looked up to see the all the girls lining the other side of the table, Tiara, Lea, Jackie, and Emma, staring at her.

“Oh,” Gabriella responded, stuck for what else to say.

Sharpay said, “I haven’t told them anything.”

Gabriella turned to Ivonne who said, “Me neither.”

Jackie asked, “Told us _what_?”

“Troy and I used to date a long time ago,” Gabriella explained, “but that’s all there is to it.”

Tiara laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Gabriella asked.

Tiara said, “Of course that’s not ‘all there is to it’ if you slept with him last night. You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to. It’s obvious some of us are not destined to become the very _bestest_ of friends.” She glanced to Ivonne. “But I think you should tell us if he’s off limits now.”

“Why would I tell a girl who’s not my friend that the guy I like is off limits to her?”

“Ah _ha_! So you _do_ like him!”

Sharpay spoke up and said warningly, “That’s enough, Tiara.”

Tiara laughed again, obviously enjoying this. “What? I’m only asking questions. Certainly she can handle _that_ , right?”

“I said that’s enough!”

“Oh c’mon! I’m not being mean. I’m just interested. _Very_ interested.” Tiara batted her eyes at Gabriella innocently and asked in a patronizing tone, “Gabriella, do you think I’m being mean to you?”

“I need some air,” Gabriella stood from the table and turned to leave as Tiara’s loud laugh reached across the patio. She opened the gate and followed the stones in the dirt to the sidewalk.

She stomped along to the side of the building where the others couldn’t see her with her hands in fists and her jaw clenched shut. As she tried to convince herself what she said wasn’t a subconscious Freudian slip, she walked up the sidewalk where an alleyway connected to the street. She glanced down it and her mind had barely registered who she saw before his name was coming out of her mouth. “Ryan?!”

The frightened blond looked to her with bulging eyes before turning up the alley and sprinting away, a figure in a trench coat and long scarf running a few yards ahead of him.

Gabriella called after them, “Ryan! Wait!” She took off through the alley and ran after them down the next sidewalk. Ryan and the woman ducked and weaved between couples and groups of tourists as Gabriella began to catch up. “Stop!” She screamed. The two barely checked the street ahead before running out into traffic. Gabriella stood frozen on the sidewalk as cars barreling down the street in each directing blared their horns and screeched their breaks. She took one step into the street when a bicyclist speeding towards her yelled at her in Italian. She jumped back on the sidewalk and peered across to the other side, but Ryan and woman had seemingly disappeared into thin air.

She caught her breath as she walked back to the restaurant. She found her phone in her purse dangling off the back of her chair and opened her messenger app. She found Ryan’s profile on Facebook and messaged him: _I hope there’s a good explanation as to why you’re running around Positano with Sharpay’s stalker…We should talk ASAP_

* * *

 

After lunch, Gabriella excused herself upstairs to read. She opened her door and stepped inside, but when the bookshelf behind the door made a sound, she was surprised to discover someone already in there.

Trying to contain the nervousness in her voice as much as possible, she asked him, “What are you doing in my room?”

“I didn’t know you were a Fitzgerald fan,” Troy said, turning her copy of _The Great Gatsby_ around in his hands and studying the back. “You never mentioned it before.”

Gabriella snatched the book. “There was a lot I didn’t mention before.”

“And there’s a lot you’re not telling me now.” Troy turned to directly face her and Gabriella instinctively took a step back like she needed to protect herself.

“Why are you in here?” She asked him.

“I wanted to speak with you, privately. Your room seemed like the best place to catch you.”

“Well, I’m captured. Get to the point.”

“ _Get to the point_ ,” he repeated with a chuckle while crossing across the room to sit on the end of the bed. “My Ella, how much you’ve changed.”

“I’m not the _only_ one who’s changed, Troy.”

“Don’t get defensive. I mean it in the nicest way possible.”

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, hoping he’d get to the point soon. “So is that why you’re here? To tell me I’ve changed?”

“No.” He cracked his knuckles and began to swing his legs that dangled off the end of the bed. “I wanted to talk about what’s going on here.”

“Here?”

Troy pointed back and forth between himself and her.

Gabriella’s eyes bulged, and she asked, “ _Us_?”

He nodded. “Mm hmm.”

She stammered, “I…there’s nothing going on here, right?”

“Are you asking me?”

Gabriella stuttered again, “I- I don’t know.”

“Well, how do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know, Troy!”

“Again, what’s with all the defensiveness? Are you _embarrassed_?”

Gabriella admitted, “You confuse me. Maybe it’s obvious to you, but I don’t know what to think. Every time we see each other it’s another mixed signal. First I try to apologize, and then you torture me with a kiss.”

“Whoa there! My kissing abilities have been called many things, but torturous is not one of them.”

“If it wasn’t a punishment for the breakup, then tell me why you kissed me.”

“The same reason you came into my room last night.”

Gabriella softly guessed, “Alcohol?”

Troy laughed. “Alcohol? Ella, if you’re going to lie to yourself you should try to come up with something a little more believable.”

“What else am I supposed to believe?”

“I don’t want to tell you how to feel, but I do think you’re afraid of what it _could_ be.”

“You mean this,” she pointed between the two of them like he had, “all over again?”

“Yes and no. It’s not all over again. This time around is obviously not the same.”

She asked, “And you’re okay with that?”

He laughed, “Of course.”

“I don’t know, Troy. If we start thing up again, I’m afraid you’ll wait to see the girl you knew five years ago. Anything less and you’ll be disappointed.”

“You’ll never be less. Never the same, but never less. If anything, I’m glad we’re not the same. It didn’t work out the first time for a reason. This time is different, and different is good.” Troy raised his hand to the side of her face and before she could rush out again, he leaned in and connected his lips with hers. Gabriella felt a warmth ignite her heart and fought to contain the smile growing across her face. In the silent air, an alert from her phone interrupted.

Gabriella remembered the message to Ryan and gasped, “Oh my God!”

Troy asked, “What is it?”

Gabriella rushed to her purse and opened the app to read: _Meet me in town and we’ll explain everything._

Gabriella responded, _We? Who’s we? You and the stalker?_

_We shouldn’t discuss this on here. Meet me at sundown behind the restaurant you went to. Make sure no one follows._

Troy asked, “What’s going on?”

Gabriella said, “I have to go.” She rushed over to her suitcase and removed her sneakers.

“Where are you going?”

“Out,” she said and realized she needed to be much more specific if this was going to be believable. She couldn’t risk Troy telling Ronaldo or Sharpay who she was meeting. “To town.”

“Who do you know in Positano?”

Gabriella said, “It’s Sharpay’s seamstress. She did some alterations from me that I need to pick up.” The lie was so sound she surprised herself.

“You should have a chaperone. I’ll go with you. Give me a minute to grab my shoes.”

She quickly said, “I’ll take Ivonne. I don’t want to drag you to a boutique.”

"Fine with me. I’ll see you for dinner then?”

“Of course.” She smiled and turned around to find Ivonne’s dor.

“Hey!” Troy called after her. He tugged her back towards him by her wrist and gave her another kiss. “Don’t be gone too long.”

“I won’t,” Gabriella said and went to Ivonne’s room and knocked on the door. “Ivonne?”

Ivonne opened up dressed in sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt with a fatigued look on her face. “Hmm?”

Gabriella stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She whispered, “There’s something I need to do in town, and I need you to come with me. I’ll explain on the way, but you can’t tell anyone what we’re doing.”

Ivonne raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’ve certainly captured my curiosity.”

“That’ll have to be enough. Meet me by the side of the house in five minutes. If anyone asks, tell them we’re going on a run.” Gabriella stepped out into the hallway and slowly tiptoed down the stairs with a thousand different possibilities for what Ryan would tell her racing through her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought!


	6. Maddalena

Gabriella skid to a stop, the loose pebbles on the sidewalk rolling down the pavement beneath her feet. "Wait, I think it was that way."

Ivonne argued, "It can't be. We came from there."

The two women, obviously unfamiliar with the city, restlessly paced the sidewalk in front of the vacant bicycle shop. Gabriella sat on the curb and wedged her finger between the back of her ankle and her shoe to relieve the pressure on her blisters.

Ivonne pointed down the next street and said, "We haven't tried that way."

"I know it wasn't that way. Sharpay didn't turn right after we came up the hill."

Ivonne grunted in frustration and clenched her hands into fists. "We might as well try it anyway! We're so turned around I don't know how we'll ever find our way back."

Gabriella shrugged. "Fine. We have nothing else to try."

Gabriella accepted Ivonne's outreach hand to help her to a stand. Gabriella focused on the concrete path leading them on a winding route when Ivonne said, "You still haven't told me what I could be walking into. What exactly is this meeting supposed to accomplish? Are they going to show proof?"

"I told you everything I know. Ryan didn't specify what we'll discuss. He was very short when he said we shouldn't talk on Facebook."

"Jesus. I hope he's not paranoid, too. Thinking someone's reading his messages and tracking his phone."

"He's worried," Gabriella said, "like any twin brother should be. Isn't that why you're coming with, because you're worried like any friend would be?"

"I wasn't about to let you go alone and none of those other fake friends would ever go out of their way to protect Sharpay."

Gabriella said, "That's a little harsh, don't you think? I mean, I don't like them either, but they're still real friends. Right?"

"I'm not so sure anymore. You heard what that psychic said. Tiara's presence is fleeing. I guarantee you the rest of those airheads will be right behind her. One little hiccup and those girls are going to be on the next train to Rome."

Gabriella scoffed, "C'mon, you can't really believe what Gianni said. If you do then you're way too superstitious."

"Nah, but I admit I am just a little  _-stitious_."

Gabriella snorted a laugh. "Stop," she nudged Ivonne's arm.

Ivonne grabbed Gabriella's arm and pulled her away from the unkept rosebushes she nearly stepped into. "Watch out…wait a minute." The two shared a look of realization before running down the street.

"There it is!" Gabriella exclaimed as she pointed to the little restaurant.

"Right where we left it." Ivonne laughed to herself.

Gabriella led Ivonne around the building to the alley and said, "Well. This is it. This is where I saw them."

Ivonne joined her, cautiously checking around the dumpster and looking back over her should. She asked, "So…what now?"

"Now we wait." Gabriella shrugged.

"Can you message him?"

"That's a good idea. I'll let him know we're-" Gabriella had her phone halfway out of her pocket when a loud metallic groan screeched from above. She looked up to see an escape ladder falling right down at her. Diving forward onto her elbows on the hard alley ground, she escaped its path as it jerked to a stop a foot off the ground.

Ryan stuck his head out over the scaffolding of the fire escape and yelled down, "Climb up!"

Ivonne knelt by Gabriella and asked her, "Are you okay?"

Ryan interrupted, "Hurry!"

Gabriella got up and brushed off her elbows and knees before climbing the fire escape. Once Ivonne joined, Ryan hoisted the ladder up behind them. Gabriella said, "You almost sent that ladder through my head, you know."

"It slipped," Ryan said through a strained voice as he struggled to secure it. Once it finally snapped back into place, he said, "Well, I suppose we need a proper introduction. C'mon. They're inside." Gabriella thought,  _They?_ Ryan pulled a smoke-stained curtain aside and stepped in through the window. Ivonne and Gabriella shared an apprehensive look, but entered nonetheless. She knew they were too close to back out now.

Ryan said, "I'll let them know you're here."

"Ryan, wait." Gabriella grabbed his arm to stop him and said in a whisper, "Tell me now…is it true?"

Ryan glanced behind him before looking at her with a regretful gaze. He said, "It isn't good. I'll be right back."

Gabriella stood with Ivonne in the living room while Ryan retrieved the woman, and only when she heard the silence did Gabriella realize there had been voices in the other room. Ryan returned in front with two women following – the mystery 'stalker' in a long red trench coat and her little sister Gabriella recognized from the restaurant.

The younger sister's vibrant green eyes sparkled in the dim light as she looked back and forth between Ivonne and Gabriella. She cleared her throat and confidently spoke, "Thank you for coming." She was unrecognizable compared to the frightened server Gabriella encountered just this afternoon. Now she seemed mature, like the version Sharpay recounted meeting at the seamstress' boutique. "My name is Rosalia," she said in a strong Italian accent, "Maddalena's sister."

 _Maddalena_ , Gabriella thought, finally connecting a name to the mysterious figure and stories. For the first time, she considered the magnitude of the situation. This was a  _real_  human with a  _name_  and a  _family_  whose reputation had been tarnished by Ronaldo's claims.

Ivonne said, "Let's cut to the chase. What do you know about Ronaldo and what do you have to prove it?"

Rosalia said, "She doesn't speak any English. I will translate."

Maddalena spoke to Rosalia in Italian, who then turned to Gabriella and said, "First, she says she's sorry she couldn't meet you last time. There was someone following you, and she couldn't risk being seen."

Gabriella asked, "Who was following me?"

"A man."

Ivonne scoffed and murmured, "Geesh, that narrows it down. Tell her there are many men in that house. What did he look like?"

Maddalena spoke to Rosalia again. Rosalia said, "She says he had a crooked nose."

Gabriella looked to Ivonne and guessed, "Leonardo?"

Ivonne suggested, "Or Ronaldo."

Gabriella felt a freezing chill tickle from the small of her back up to her neck. She swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "Can you tell her that I've read her letters to Sharpay, and ask her why she believes what she wrote?"

Rosalia translated, "Before we begin, she invites you to sit down and make yourself comfortable. There is so much to know and you will likely be here for a while."

Gabriella took a seat on the sunken sofa and Ivonne reluctantly joined her. Maddalena took her time as she undid the belt around her trench coat. She exposed a skeletal frame as she moved to hang it on the coat rack. Gabriella examined her closely once she sat on the opposite sofa, the sunken eyes, the knobby knuckles, the gaunt face. Gabriella reminded herself to quit staring, but still felt her eyes redirecting back to her because she appeared so shockingly and terminally malnourished.

Maddalena whispered in Rosalia's ear and Rosalia said, "Would you like tea?"

Ivonne answered, "We're ready to listen. I'd like to hear everything she knows."

Rosalia and Maddalena had a small discussion in Italian before Rosalia said, "We've known Ronaldo since we were little kids. We group up in Pompeii, an hour North of Positano. Ronaldo learned to pickpocket and steal as a child to help get food for his family. His father was a gambler and a drunk. Once Ronaldo was old enough, he joined gangs."

Gabriella stopped her. "Wait, Sharpay thinks Ronaldo inherited the vineyard and all the businesses from his family. Is none of that true?"

Rosalia said, "Ronaldo built this empire himself. My sister says he was selling drugs as a dealer before the police began targeting him. He went to jail a couple of times before wising up and moving to Positano to become a supplier. He climbed his way up to the top of the chain, murdering competition and anyone else who got in the way."

Ivonne asked, "Hold up, drug supplier? Murderer? If all this is true, why aren't you going to the police? Those are some serious crimes."

Rosalia said, "The police will never investigate him. Some of them even buy directly from him, so they'd expose their own force if they did so. Or he would just bribe his way out."

Gabriella said, "Ask her if everyone in the house is involved."

While Rosalia and Maddalena spoke to each other, Ivonne said to Gabriella, "Gabriella, she hasn't proven anything."

Rosalia answered, "She says he and all his male relatives are involved, and many other employees as well."

Gabriella pressed, "Ask her about Troy, how does Ronaldo know Troy?"

"She said she doesn't know who Troy is."

Gabriella sat back in the couch after realizing she'd been sitting atop the edge.

Ivonne asked, "So,  _again_ , where's the proof?"

Rosalia said, "She says she only has her words."

"Then tell her that doesn't mean anything to us."

As Rosalia translated, Maddalena interrupted her with a raised her voice. Rosalia said, "She says she can't possibly have proof for everything. But would you rather believe she's crazy?"

Gabriella said, "I don't think you're crazy, but I do think that you don't have enough evidence to make these claims. You have nothing to support it."

"She says the vineyard is a warehouse."

Ivonne challenged, "Prove it."

Rosalia translated enough of what Maddalena was willing to hear before she abruptly stood and went to her room.

Ivonne said, "Well I guess that means we're done here." Ivonne climbed out onto the fire escape and dropped the ladder.

Ryan stopped Gabriella before she left the room and asked, "What do you think?"

Gabriella carefully said, "You should go home, Ryan."

"What? You don't believe us?"

"Frankly, no."

"Gabriella, if what she's saying is true then my sister could be in serious danger.  _You_  could be in serious danger."

"But it's not true. That's the difference. Nobody is in any real danger. Maddalena is  _sick_. Just look at her."

Ryan argued, "So you're going not going to believe the witness because she's also ill?"

"It has nothing to do with whatever physical problem Maddalena has. It's about the lack of proof."

"Who needs proof? She says it's true. These claims need to be taken seriously."

"And we did. We investigated it and there's nothing to show what she's saying has any truth to it. We did everything we were supposed to do, but there's just no threat."

Ryan scoffed and said disappointedly, "I really hoped if any of Sharpay's friends would listen, it'd be you." He walked away, and Gabriella took the cue to leave.

Once Gabriella landed on the alley ground again, she asked Ivonne, "So what do you think is going on?"

Ivonne quickly led Gabriella out of the alley. "I think there's a reasonable explanation for all of this that's none of our business."

Gabriella rushed to catch up and walk side by side with her. She asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that whatever Ronaldo is up to is between he and the law. Maybe he's cutting some corners in his business practices, and if he gets caught he'll have to pay for it. C'mon, Gabriella. Be honest. Do you look at that guy and see an international drug lord? And don't you think that if he was as dangerous as Maddalena claims, something should have happened already? Sharpay still has all her fingers. Everything's fine."

"I don't know. Something feels off about him."

"Then you're just looking for something to validate it. It's called confirmation bias. You don't like the guy. So what? You're not the one dating him, and that doesn't automatically make him dangerous."

The sky was a deep navy-blue and all the lights were out in the house by the time they returned. They silently snuck back to their own rooms. When Gabriella laid down, she took every doubt she had about Ronaldo and put it all to rest.

* * *

 

Gabriella cracked the eggs, scooped the flour, and poured in some milk. She was whisking the stubborn clumps of flour in the pancake batter when she noticed Leonardo staring at her from the doorway into the foyer. "You're cooking," he observed with a hint of surprise and admiration.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I thought you might want to take a meal off. I hope that's alright with you."

He smiled. "Of course, Gabriella. Thank you." He wandered off to the living room and Gabriella heard the news from the TV come on.

Footsteps came down the stairs and Ronaldo and Sharpay entered holding hands, smiling and gushing to each other as they passed through the kitchen and into the dining room. Ronaldo took a seat and put a hand on the small of Sharpay's back as she lowered onto his leg. They hunched over the local newspaper and Ronaldo slowly read, " _Go-ver-na-to-re, la mia principessa_.  _Governatore_. Repeat."

Sharpay put an American spin on his pronunciation and echoed, " _Go-ver-nuh-too-re_."

"No, no.  _Go-ver-na-to-re_."

She said, " _Go-ver-na-to-re_."

" _Perfetto_."

"What does it mean?"

"Governor. See?" He pointed to the newspaper and dragged his finger along the headline. "Here it says  _il governatore è in prigione_. The governor is in jail. Wait, the governor is in jail? How disfortunate."

Sharpay giggled before correcting him, "How  _un_ fortunate. Disfortunate isn't a word."

Ronaldo said, "How about we make it one? Just between the two of us."

Sharpay laughed and Gabriella felt herself instinctively frown. She recognized this side of Ronaldo from her first day. This was the gentleman, the brilliant businessman, the polite scholar. He was quiet, but maybe that kind of presence was better to balance a personality like Sharpay's. This was the side Sharpay loved, the side that convinced her to stay with him when the bad sides came out to play. And listening to him patiently tutor her, she could convince herself that despite her initial reserves, they were indeed a great match.

Gabriella heated a pan over the burner and poured in the first ladle of batter. It spread out evenly across the pan and soon began to bubble. She methodically shook the pan back and forth until the cooked side of the batter began unsticking. Then, she pointed the opposite end of the pan towards the floor before quickly flicking it up towards the ceiling and catching it with the pan on the raw side.

A roaring voice cheered beside her, " _Bravo_!" The man began clapping excitedly before approaching her and giving her a kiss on each cheek. She stood there frozen before the heat from the handle bit through her towel and she dropped the pan back on the stove.

With Sharpay giggling on his lap, Ronaldo said, "Please excuse my little brother Enzo. He is, how do you say, easily amused?"

The man with identical black hair, dark brown eyes, and crooked nose as Ronaldo said, " _Easily_   _amused_? I'd like to see you try that trick. That was impressive! Well done!"

"I can teach you how if you like. It's not that hard."

"Oh, I don't know. Mama never let me in the kitchen." He frowned. "I always burned things."

"C'mon, you should try. It's really not that hard, and I'll be here the whole time." She offered the bowl out to him and he reluctantly took the ladle. "There you go, just pour it in the pan. Nice and easy."

Enzo pointed to the pan with a perfect circle of batter and proudly said, "Look! Not too bad!"

Ronaldo said from the dining table, "He might be a cook after all!"

Gabriella tilted the pan from side to side and said, "I think we're ready to flip."

" _We_? I think you mean  _you_  are ready to flip."

"C'mon! It's the best part. It's okay. You won't drop it." She gave him a reassuring smile as she pointed the towel-covered handle towards him.

He reluctantly said, "If you say so."

She overheard Sharpay say, "Oh, I  _have_  to watch this!" She and Ronaldo gathered in the kitchen and held onto each other as they eagerly awaited the flip.

Enzo tried to give the pan back to Gabriella saying, "No, you do it so well."

Sharpay cheered, "Woo! Enzo! You can do it!" Leonardo came in and joined in with his own applause and hollering. Suddenly, a stampede of footsteps came trampling down the stairs. Ivonne, Lea, and some of the guys rushed into the kitchen to investigate the commotion. They all joined the encouragement and everyone chanted, "Enzo! Enzo! Enzo!"

Enzo roared, " _Viva Italia_!" and threw the pan high above his head, breaking the base off the handle and sending the smoldering hot portion shooting towards the ceiling. It ricocheted off and crashed onto the floor with so much force it cracked the tile and bent the base. After the deafening commotion, a tense silence filled the air.

Ronaldo roared, "God damn it!" Gabriella jumped and looked to the couple, noticing how Sharpay folded her hands together and held them against her chest in an effort to shrink herself.

Ronaldo's typical handsome face became contorted with ugly fury. His skin turned red and his eyes were bulging in his head. He screamed at Enzo, "You fucking idiot!"

Gabriella said, "Stop it! He's not an idiot. He just got excited is all. It wasn't on purpose."

Ronaldo screamed at Enzo in Italian as if Gabriella hadn't said anything at all. He shoved Enzo into the counter and leaned over him, screaming things only he and his posse understood.

Sharpay screamed over Ronaldo's yelling, "Ronaldo! Stop! You're scaring my friends!"

Ronaldo spat fierce, foreign words into Enzo's face that he held up by his collar. Sharpay pulled against his massive arms with no effect. Ronaldo finally released his brother but gripped his own hair and pulled at its roots instead. He marched out into the garden, kicking the trash can over on his way out.

Gabriella grabbed Sharpay who was hyperventilating and asked, "Can I talk to you for a second? Upstairs?"

Sharpay gasped in erratic breaths and fanned herself. She called out, "Girls!"

The others followed them upstairs and together they escorted Sharpay to her master bedroom. Gabriella locked the door behind and sat with the group on the bed. Tiara was saying, "It's going to be okay," while Emma, Lea, and Jackie carefully groomed her hair and repeated their own reassuring renditions.

Gabriella said, "Will everyone stop for a second? I have to talk to Sharpay."

Tiara snapped, "You're not the only one concerned about her!"

"No, but I am the only one who'll care more about her wellbeing than her feelings."

Tiara argued, "You don't know what's best for her! All you've done is filled her head with doubt. She needs  _me_."

Ivonne said, "Who died and made you the authority on her wellbeing?"

Tiara said, "Well if I could explain myself-"

Sharpay snapped, "Shut up! I can't handle everyone's bickering! One at a time for Christ's sake."

"Sharpay," Gabriella quickly interjected, "What he did was absolutely unacceptable, and I'm not sure you can do anything to change it."

Ivonne said, "Gabriella's right. It's not your responsibility to teach him how to behave."

Tiara rolled her eyes. "Will you two stop being so sensitive? He has a little bit of a temper. Why are you surprised? He's Italian. They're passionate."

Gabriella felt as though sometime throughout the night she crossed dimensions where this blatant red flag was somehow acceptable. In the calmest voice she could muster, Gabriella explained, "Tiara…There's passion and then there's anger management, and I don't think that's an Italian thing. It's just an asshole thing."

Tiara said, "Who are you to call him an asshole? You've barely talked to the guy."

Ivonne countered, "Well usually people prefer to avoid assholes. It's kind of the nature of things."

Tiara said, "Everyone's flaws can be overlooked."

Ivonne sardonically answered, "Yes, let's all gush over the way he held his own brother against the counter by his neck! What an outstanding man!"

Sharpay cried, "You all think this is so easy, don't you? All of you think you'd know what to do like  _that_ ," she snapped her fingers. "Oh just get over it and marry him, oh just stand up for yourself and leave him. I'll tell you something…It's never that easy. It's never as simple as it looks. If it was, I wouldn't need all of you here to help me. So before you judge me for being indecisive, why don't you make sure you have the full story?"

Jackie said, "Then tell us, Sharpay. What's the full story?"

Ivonne gasped cupped her hands over her mouth, evidently realizing something the others hadn't. "Oh my God. Gianni said you were  _glowing_. Sharpay, does this mean…?"

Sharpay said in a soft, defeated voice, "He was right. I'm pregnant."

A cloud of silence expanded in the air, growing more and more pressure through each second.

Lea asked, "You're sure?"

Sharpay answered, "Positive."

Emm asked, "How far along?"

"Six weeks."

There was a tense moment of silence before Jackie quietly and cautiously asked, "What are the laws here if you wanted to…you know…"

"I can't do that." Sharpay crumbled onto the floor at the suggestion. The girls knelt around her in silence, a sadness stuck like humidity in the air around them. This was not what she wanted to happen. This is not what any of them wanted to happen. Sharpay said, "I will raise the baby, but I don't know if Ronaldo can, or  _should_. Not with his temper the way it is."

Ivonne asked, "So what are your options?"

"Call it off and go back to the states. He'd never have to know I had a baby." Sharpay sadly plucked at the carpet fibers in the rug. "I used to fantasize about raising kids with him…before I knew how he really was. I keep thinking maybe we can make it work. Maybe I can change him. That's why I haven't left yet. I don't want to give up on my dream."

Ivonne said, "The only thing worse than staying in an abusive relationship for a year is staying for a year and a day."

"I know," Sharpay sighed. "We'll all be home soon. Just give me some more time. I'm not ready to let go of this place yet."

* * *

 

Gabriella sat at the dining room table, rereading the same line in her book again and again. Nothing felt the same, not the books, not the house, not the entire vacation. She felt as if she shared this burden with Sharpay. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder to see Troy. "Sorry," he said, "I've been saying your name."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." She weakly smiled at him.

"Everything okay?"

Gabriella lied, "Just bored I guess."

"Wow. You're staying in one of the nicest houses in a destination city, and you're still bored? I'm almost impressed."

She shrugged. "Homesick, I guess."

"Well, I was going to head out soon. Do you want to come with? Might help liven things up a little."

"Where are you going?"

Troy answered, "Sentiero degli Dei."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a surprise." He smirked and reached out his hand. "C'mon. I promise it's not boring."

'Not boring' was one way to describe the hour hike up to the top of the cliffside overlooking the sea. The cliffside hugged around the sea below for miles.

They shared a boulder covered in moss and gazed at the breathtaking scene between the trees.

Troy cleared his throat, "Something's bothering me, Gabriella." Just when she thought she was getting a break, the weight of uncertainty fell back on Gabriella's shoulders. He said, "You said you were going to see a seamstress last night, but no boutique is open past dinner."

"Ivonne and I wanted to go exploring."

He read through her bluff like it was a clear sheet of glass. "Who did you see?"

Gabriella admitted, "An old friend."

"Boyfriend?"

"There's not another ex-boyfriend on this planet, let alone Positano. It was a woman. Someone I met on the trip."

"Maddalena."

"Yes, how did you-?"

"I should have figured. You probably know this now, but you shouldn't have met with her. All it does is encourage her."

"But how do you know about her?"

"Everyone knows about her. She's Positano's crazy woman."

"You shouldn't call her that."

"I'm sorry. She's…paranoid. Delusional. Whatever you want to call it. Sick."

"So it isn't true?"

He laughed, "Of course it's not true. I've known Ronaldo for nearly half a year now. He can be a prick at times, but he's no drug smuggler."

"How long have you been here?"

"I've been helping out for the past few months. It was really nice of them to let me stay in the house. They didn't have to do that."

"I'm still blown away that out of everyone I know and everywhere we could end up, we both ended up here at the same time. What did you think when you saw me again?"

"I thought you were just as beautiful as I remembered."

"You must have been shocked to see me, right?"

Troy admitted, "I knew you were coming."

"What? How?"

"Sharpay showed us photos of you and her other friends before anyone arrived."

"What did you think when you saw me then?"

He smiled. "C'mon, Ella. You know what I thought." He threaded his fingers through her hair and gently pulled her head back. She closed her eyes and lightly perked out her lips in anticipated for his to meet her. The side of his face leaned against her jawline and he placed deep kisses down her neck.

The words, "Oh my God," escaped her mouth.

He pulled her hand towards him as he slid down the side of the boulder. "Come here."

"What are you doing?" She carefully stepped down to the patch of dirt behind the boulder. Troy glanced back at the trail and pulled her deeper into the forest, stepping over fallen tree trunks and pushing the branches aside. Gabriella asked, "Troy, where are you taking me?"

He pulled her up against his chest and kissed her deeply. His hands snuck up from the bottom of her camisole and pulled it up above her chest to expose her abdomen and cleavage.

"Troy, we shouldn't. It's risky."

"That's the best part, remember?" Gabriella looked around and convinced herself they were far enough away from the unmarked trail that no one would see them…hopefully. Troy's eyes stared intently at her, gauging her reaction as he slid his hand down the front of her shorts and felt for her clit.

She gripped his forearm and leaned back against the tree trunk behind her as his rubbing made her dripping wet. He pulled her shorts and underwear down to just above her knees and pulled himself out the top of his basketball shorts. Gabriella turned around and held onto the tree for balance as she bent forward. She stared down at the green leaves, dirt, and twigs on the ground until she felt him enter her eyes snapped shut. Her nails dug into the bark as he thrusted. One hand stayed on her hip and the other trailed up her back and gripped onto her shoulder as he sped up his pace. The entire forest seemed to disappear around them as she experienced such intensity. She moaned and gasped erratically as she approached and rode a new height of pleasure.

He gave a few more thrusts before stopping inside her and then pulling out. She pulled her short up and looked around, ensuring that no one could be watching.

Troy covered up again and Gabriella asked, "You're never going to grow out of that kink, are you?"

"Not as long as I can still convince you to do it." He smiled and pulled her in, kissing her again before leading her back through the forest and to the house home.


	7. The Vineyard

Loud, sharp voices cut through the walls and lured Gabriella back to Positano from the magnificent world of her dreams. She squeezed the pillow underneath her head to reorient herself before blindly reaching for Troy, but the bed was empty. She peeled open her eyes and felt through the darkness for him. The muffled shouts reached her ears from outside, so she crawled out from underneath the covers and peeked between the curtains to investigate the commotion out the window. The fog was so thick that she couldn't see past the fence to the sea. It was like the world ended at the rose bushes.

Ronaldo was standing beside the trail of stepping stones leading from the shed around the side of the house. While the men carried huge bags marked as soil, he barked orders at them in Italian. Troy appeared from the side of the house and vanished back into the shed. When he came out, he was balancing one of the heavy bags on his muscular shoulder. Even from the balcony, she could see the short stubble surrounding his frown. Her eyes instinctively looked over to Ronaldo, his eyes already glaring into hers.

She pulled the curtains between them and backed into her room, afraid she intruded upon something she wasn't supposed to witness. She passed by all the girls' rooms in the hallway, the doors closed and the whole level silent in the misty dusk. She went downstairs and found a mountainous heap of bacon and scrambled eggs courtesy of Leonardo in the center of the island. She pinched a strip of bacon and held it up to her teeth when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned and locked eyes with Ronaldo.

He said, "I apologize if we woke you."

"I would have woken up soon anyway." She gnawed on her bacon as he went to the fridge and removed a large glass jar of orange juice. There was a damp pattern of sweat down his back, so Gabriella commented, "Strange time to be gardening, no?"

The sound of his chuckle made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "It's going to rain all day, and that shed leaks." He slammed the refrigerator shut and departed the room. The bacon sat uncomfortably in her stomach. She was beginning to feel the same way about Ronaldo as she did about her former employer Karen Collins. She was consoled by the fact that their brief time being acquainted should come to end soon, she hoped.

Regardless, he was right. It started raining shortly after breakfast and was pouring sheets down the house by lunch time. The men were out in the garage and the girls spread out across the living and dining room. Sharpay approached the window looking out the back yard and laid her hands on either side of the frame. "All this moisture is going to murder my hair. I'm going to be a frizzy-headed freak by tonight."

Gabriella asked, "What's so important about tonight?"

Sharpay slowly turned around with an angry twitch in her eye. "The symphony? The most important night this month?"

Although Gabriella couldn't recall learning about these plans, she said monotonously, "Oh yeah."

"Would it kill you to pretend like my life matters to you?" Sharpay snapped.

Gabriella looked up from her book at the furious face staring down at her. She was surprised and confused that  _this_  was what Sharpay seemed to care so much about. Gabriella began to say, "Sharpay, I'm sorry," but Sharpay stormed upstairs with a trail of friends chasing after her. After the flurry of bodies crossed the room, Gabriella spotted Ivonne leaning against the fireplace shaking her head. Gabriella said, "I didn't know she'd take it that personally. It's not like it's  _her_  symphony."

Ivonne waited to hear the door upstairs slam shut and then said, "It's not about the symphony. You should know that. She's projecting."

Gabriella rubbed her eyes, tired from the long day even though it was only the afternoon. Ivonne came over to share the couch with Gabriella. Ivonne said, "I know it's cliché, but I can guarantee you it's not about you."

"You're right." Gabriella looked down at the cover of the book in her lap when the room fell dark the only dim light coming in was from the windows behind them. The girls screamed from upstairs and all the men calmly filed in from the garage. Ronaldo removed a couple of flashlights and candles from a cabinet before passing them around.

The screaming upstairs finally subsided once Ivonne and Gabriella brought them flashlights. Sharpay and her followers breezed past Gabriella and followed Ivonne down the stairs. As the girls all found a spot around the dining room table, Ronaldo finished his call and tossed his cell phone on the table with a loud, frustrated thud.

Fabrizio asked, "How long did they say?"

"They can't send anyone out until it stops raining," Ronaldo responded.

Sharpay suggested, "Could we go out to the vineyard? Maybe they have power."

"You don't want to travel in this."

"So what now? We have to waste a day indoors?"

"I can't control the weather, Sharpay!"

Gabriella argued, "No one is saying you could."

Ivonne yelled over them, "Stop bickering! It's a temporary outage. It's not that big of a deal. We'll just have to figure something else out in the meantime."

Sharpay stood and decided, "I've been wanting to clear out my closet for the next collection. I guess today is the day. We're taking the flashlights upstairs. Follow me ladies."

* * *

 

While Tiara, Emma, Jackie, and Lea fawned over each piece in Sharpay's never ending collection of designer clothes and accessories, Ivonne and Gabriella sat together in the nook overlooking the street. Gabriella twisted around at the torso to watch the water cascading down the window. "I love weather like this." She dragged her fingers down the cool glass longingly.

"Me too."

"I don't understand why she's so worked up over something so insignificant. Shouldn't we be looking for tickets home? Shouldn't we be packing?"

"She's the queen of avoidance. It's an escape mechanism. It's how she stayed with Ronaldo, it's how she doesn't implode under the stress of it all. Hell, it's the reason why we're here. One big distraction."

Sharpay came over with a handful of black fabric and dropped it onto Gabriella's lap. "Put this on." She rejoined the others to supervise as they raided her closet.

Gabriella set the dress to the side and took off her shorts and T-shirt. She slid the dress on and felt the silk cascade down her body before pooling at her feet. Ivonne zipped the back for her before leading her over to the mirror with a flashlight. Gabriella admired her reflection as she stroked down the sides and traced the crossed fabric beneath her bust.

Sharpay said behind her, "That'll have to work for tonight. It's the only thing I have in your size."

"It's a little tight up top. Just look at my boobs, I'm spilling out of it." Gabriella bent over and shook to show its snugness.

"Well if you wanted something that fit, then you shouldn't have avoided our shopping spree."

"Sharpay, please, is this really what we should be arguing about?"

Sharpay held her stare but said nothing. She wrapped the clothing in her hands over her forearm and walked away.

The girls resumed their conversations in the closet and Ivonne pulled the zipper down. She whispered into Gabriella's ear, "Don't worry. She always comes around."

Gabriella nodded, pulled the dress down, and stepped out of it. She went towards the closet for a hanger when she noticed the ceiling was creaking. She murmured to herself, "What the hell is that?" She stood underneath and barely saw through the darkness that it was protruding. The creaking reached a crescendo and before Gabriella could react, the ceiling burst open and gallons of dirty rain water washed over her. Frightened, she screamed and the all flashlights from the closet pointed to her. Leonardo ran into the room with Fabrizio and Alfonso close behind him. There was a roar of laughter coming from the closet as Gabriella stood there, humiliated in her soaked underwear.

Sharpay approached the men and angrily barked, "What are you staring at? Go tell Ronaldo!"

Gabriella approached the hoard of hysterically laughing girls standing outside the closet and snatched a flashlight from Jackie's hands. Jackie protested, "Hey!" But Gabriella ignored her and went into the bathroom for a towel.

* * *

 

By the time the rain let up enough for an electrician to arrive, everyone was sick with cabin fever. Ronaldo took the guys to check on the yacht in the harbor after the storm, and Sharpay took the girls to the seamstress.

The woman walked in formation down the street, Sharpay at the head, Emma and Tiara next, then Lea and Jackie, and finally Gabriella and Ivonne. The overhead signs jutting over the sidewalk still dripped, and streams of water flooded down the drains in the street.

Ivonne said to Gabriella, "I hope this isn't the last we see of each other."

"What makes you say that?"

"The vacation is coming to an end. I'm going back to Sante Fe, you're going back to wherever."

"Albuquerque. Just an hour away."

Ivonne and Gabriella smiled to each other, but within a few seconds everything changed. A loud engine roared behind them and they turned just in time to see a black sedan flying directly towards them. With the adrenaline racing through her veins, Gabriella could see everything as if it happened in slow motion. She saw the car bounce as it hopped up the curb and sped onto the sidewalk. She turned back towards the others in front of her and sprinted with Ivonne up to Sharpay. As others became aware, they dispersed and fled across the street and against the building. Sharpay was still a yard away, her blonde locks slowly flaring up around her face as she turned her head. She held her hands out in front to protect herself from the impact when Gabriella and Ivonne tackled her to the side. The car continued down the sidewalk, hitting Jackie's legs to make her spin before clipping the brick building and taking off down the road.

* * *

 

Gabriella sat between Emma and Ivonne, across from Sharpay, Lea, and Tiara, with her arms crossed over her chest and a blank gaze aimed at the linoleum floor. She felt like a passenger in her body, like a stranger dropped into this foreign existence. Jackie was in surgery for leg injury from a hit and run. How could this have happened? What exactly happened?

She closed her eyes and tried to remember. Ivonne and her were talking about something, but she couldn't remember what. Maybe they weren't talking at all. It was all such a blur, but she knew then there was panic. She remembered her heart thudding against her ribcage so fast it could have exploded, and she remembered Sharpay's bulging, terrified eyes as Ivonne and she pushed her aside. Then Jackie's screams, so piercing and so very afraid. There was an ambulance and huddles of curious stares around them. She couldn't remember when she stopped feeling, but she knew now that she couldn't anymore.

Another hour passed before a nurse stepped into the waiting room and waved them through. She took the group up to Jackie's room where she laid on a hospital bed with her leg elevated in a thick white cast.

Sharpay cried, "Oh my God." She approached her bedside and held her hand. "Jackie, I'm so sorry."

Emma rested her hand on Sharpay's shoulder and said, "No one blames you, Sharpay."

Lea said, "It's just this world, messed up beyond repair."

The door behind them opened and the men filed in. Gabriella recognized Troy's hand when it reached around her back. He whispered in her ear, "Is it true?" Gabriella didn't respond and wasn't bothered to ask for clarification.

Enzo asked everyone, "What happened?"

Lea said, "It was terrorist attack!"

Emma argued, "It was an accident. There was too much water in the street. They hydroplaned and went up on the sidewalk."

"It wasn't an accident," Troy said. "It was a gang."

Gabriella asked, "How would you know that?" The room was silent with all the men looking at one another. Ronaldo jerked his head toward the door and they stepped into the hallway, leaving the girls alone in the room.

Ivonne asked, "Gang?" Sharpay sighed and dropped her head into her hands. Ivonne noticed and said, "Spit it out, Sharpay. What do you know?"

Sharpay averted her gaze to the floor and said, "There had been a few robberies in the neighborhood."

Emma argued, "You told me Positano is safe!"

"It is. We have a security system now."

Tiara commented, "Well that didn't seem to do us any good today."

Gabriella asked, "But why is a gang targeting you?"

"I have no idea."

Ronaldo reentered with the others following behind him. They lined the other side of Jackie's hospital bed across from the women. Ronaldo said with a finality to his tone, "We're going home."

Tiara exclaimed, "I'm not going anywhere with you people! This is madness! I could have died. We  _all_  could have died."

Ronaldo dismissed her concerns, "Don't be so overdramatic."

Tiara said, "It's not overdramatic when there's an unborn child among us."

The room fell into a tense silence and Gabriella felt slammed into her body from the air again. She wanted to reach back and strangle Tiara but concealed her anger and seethed from within instead.

Ivonne lied, "Me. I'm pregnant."

"That's a lie." Tiara said, "It's Sharpay. She told us yesterday."

Gabriella looked over to Sharpay as she turned around to confront Tiara, her face unlike anything she'd ever seen on her before. Her complexion was overcome with red, her eyes watered, and her lip quivered. She was saddened, angered, betrayed. She spoke in a lower voice, "Get out, Tiara."

Tiara said, "He deserved to know."

Sharpay barked, "I said get out!"

Gabriella heard the door open and shut and looked back to the stunned men across the bed. Ronaldo asked, "You're pregnant?"

"We need to talk." Sharpay led Ronaldo out into the hallway. Gabriella went to follow when Sharpay said to her and Ivonne, "Alone."

The door shut between them and Ivonne asked, "Well what now?"

Gabriella shrugged and suggested, "I saw a giftshop on the way in."

They made their way down to the first floor in silence. Gabriella thought they should be contriving another plan, but also thought Ivonne might be growing fatigued of their efforts and the Sharpay talk. They stepped inside the little shop and past the get-well cards to a display case. Gabriella pressed her nose against the glass as she looked closely at the little knick-knacks.

"I haven't gotten a single souvenir so far this trip," Ivonne said. She came to Gabriella's side and plucked a glass sea turtle on the end of a keychain from the rack.

Gabriella said, "That's cute."

"I swam with sea turtles once when I was a kid. I hoped I'd see another on this trip."

Gabriella felt a pull behind her eyes before they filled with tears. Her lip quivered and she realized she was about to cry. Ivonne wasn't the only one who hadn't gotten what she hoped for. This trip was supposed to be easy. Ronaldo was supposed to be perfect, and Sharpay was supposed to have fun showing her the city, and maybe there could have been a wedding and a happily ever after…but now she couldn't remember why she agreed to go on the trip in the first place, or what she expected to get out of it. She only knew that this was not it at all.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ivonne asked.

Gabriella felt a warm tear run down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. She said in a shaking voice, "Nobody got what they wanted."

"It isn't over yet," Ivonne tried to console her.

"I want it to be. God, I just want to go home." She threw her head back and blinked her tears away.

Ivonne grabbed another identical sea turtle key chain and gave the cashier her money. She handed one to Gabriella and said, "We'll see the sea turtles again one day. Maybe not this trip."

Gabriella smiled finally. She said, "Beautiful. Thank you, Ivonne."

The two walked back up to Jackie's room where the all of the men and only Sharpay remained.

"Where's Emma and Lea?"

Sharpay sighed. "We're traveling to the vineyard. They chose not to come."

Gabriella asked, "Why?"

Ronaldo answered, "It's safe out there."

Ivonne questioned, "Safe from whom? Who is targeting us?"

Troy explained, "Terrorists, like Emma said."

Gabriella said, "But you said it was gangs."

Troy said impatiently, "I was mistaken. Not the first time, won't be the last." She hated his tone, like she was supposed to believe every word he said without question.

Sharpay said to Ivonne and Gabriella, "If you want to leave, I don't blame you. I can call a cab to take you to the train station."

Gabriella shared a look with Ivonne. Neither of them had what they wanted, and now was their opportunity to leave for good. But something stopped her from taking the opportunity. She remembered that at its core, this trip was an exchange of service. Sharpay was going to cover Gabriella's court costs to get the money Karen Collins owed her, and Gabriella was supposed to help Sharpay decide whether or not to marry Ronaldo. That was their agreement. Things might be far more complicated and dangerous than she anticipated, but she gave Sharpay her word. And what kind of friend would she be if she didn't keep her word?

"We're coming with you," Gabriella said decidedly.

* * *

 

The group traveled North in three cars, two filled with Ronaldo's relatives, and one with Ronaldo driving, Troy sitting passenger, and the women stuffed together in the back seat. The fog was so thick and ominous, they couldn't see more than a few yards down the road. Gabriella looked out her window to the pasture fences and tall, unkept plants lining the gravel. It took a moment for her to hear the sniffles coming from Sharpay, who was ducking her face down and wiping away tears. Gabriella wanted to say something,  _anything_ , but she had no idea what Ronaldo told her or how to comfort her now. Ivonne reached for Sharpay's hand and Gabriella stared at the back of Ronaldo's head, wondering what he could have said to get her to agree to stay with him.

They pulled up to a four-car garage and Gabriella squinted through the fog to see the rest of the house on the vineyard. It was far bigger than the one in Positano by a couple of stories. There was a balcony above the front door and massive windows covered with orange shutters. She stepped outside and felt Troy's hand gently encase her wrist. "Ella," he said, shutting the door behind him, "wait. I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. It was nothing you did. I was stressed and I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm sorry."

As much as Gabriella hated his tone, she had to recognize that he was admitting his fault and did seem to genuinely feel sorry. "I forgive you."

He smiled and rubbed his hand up her arm before pulling her into a hug. "Let's get you both inside. There are bigger rooms here, but not as many. It looks like we're going to have to share." Troy pecked her cheek, but Gabriella struggled to feel any way about it. Really, she had all her mind focused on Sharpay.

Ronaldo called out in Italian from inside the garage and Troy said, "I got to go. I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Of course." Gabriella kissed him on the lips before joining Ivonne inside, who was pouring herself a glass of water at the sink. Gabriella leaned against the counter beside her and asked, "What's the plan?"

Ivonne turned the faucet off and gave her an incredulous look. " _Me_? You're the one who volunteered us to come! I thought you had something figured out."

"I have nothing."

Ivonne sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "Gabriella, you can't always be here to protect her. What if she decides to stay with him, are you just going to move in with them? We have to leave someday, and I'd like that day to come before another car tries hit us."

"I'll leave when Sharpay finally wakes up. This place isn't safe, especially with a baby on the way."

"I'm starting to think that's not an option. I'm telling you, Gabriella, she will  _never_  leave him."

"Unless…" Gabriella gripped the granite counter for stability as she experienced a great epiphany. "Oh my God, that's it!"

"What's it?"

"We need to prove Maddalena's conspiracy."

"Wait,  _what_?"

"If we get proof that Ronaldo is drug smuggler, he'll go to prison. She'll be free from him."

"Gee, that sounds really familiar. Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, when we  _disproved_  it!"

"We didn't disprove anything. We just said there wasn't proof of it. We're at the vineyard. If there's a smuggling operation going on, wouldn't you think a massive house in the middle of nowhere would be the perfect place to hide your headquarters?"

"Gabriella, this is madness!"

"Then help me disprove it."

Ivonne shook her head and decided, "If proving the obvious is what finally gets you to give up on this crazy conspiracy,  _fine_! Sign me up."

Together, Gabriella and Ivonne searched the entire second floor, every bedroom and bathroom, the closets and wardrobes. They decided to split up on the fourth floor to search faster and met up on the balcony overlooking the foyer. "Anything?" Gabriella asked Ivonne.

"Sorry, no drugs here."

Gabriella shushed her and said, "Keep your voice down."

Ivonne rolled her eyes. "Are you satisfied now?"

Gabriella gripped the railing and looked down the center of the spiral staircase. "I just want to know she's going to be okay."

"She's stronger than you give her credit."

"I hope you're right. Let's go," Gabriella led Ivonne down the staircase to the very bottom.

Sharpay marched in from the living room and yelled, "Where the hell have you two been?"

Ivonne answered, "Exploring."

Gabriella said, "Yeah, someone didn't give us a house tour."

"I was sleeping off my nausea from the car ride. You've really been exploring the house for hours?" Sharpay shook away the thought and switched subjects. "Listen, we called a cab for you both."

Ivonne asked, "Why?"

"Ronaldo didn't want me to extend the trip to the vineyard. He thinks it's best you both go home. I'm sorry it's sooner than expected, but the vacation is over."

Gabriella argued, "We only just got here!"

"Circumstances changed. Don't think I'm being unappreciative. I can't believe I finally got you to come out here for me. Thank you, Gabriella. I'll make sure you get your money from that family."

Gabriella couldn't care about the money right now. She asked, "You'll be okay, right?"

"We talked everything out. We're going to try counseling, and he'll take anger management courses." She rubbed her abdomen and smiled. "The happy family I dreamed of still could happen."

Gabriella carefully said, "Sharpay, the last thing I want to do is ruin your dreams, but you need to recognize when they danger your safety."

"Gabriella, please. I don't want you to leave on a negative note. Thank you for coming. You're an amazing friend." She reached around her and gave her a hug, then went to Ivonne to do the same. Gabriella struggled to stay quiet, but didn't want to ruin their goodbye, either.

Sharpay lit up again and said, "Oh! I almost forgot!" She rushed over to the key rack on the wall and grabbed one. "Step aside." Gabriella and Ivonne backed away for Sharpay to pull the rug aside and expose a trap door.

Ivonne asked, "What is that?"

"The wine cellar. Ronaldo doesn't like showing it off, but we have hundreds of bottles we'll never drink. He won't notice if two disappeared. Go grab yourselves one." She twisted the key and hoisted the trap door up, exposing a ladder to the dark bottom. "The light is on the wall to the left when you get down there."

Gabriella climbed down first and felt along the wall for a light. Ivonne joined her and she finally flipped it on, illuminated row after row of wine racks and more surrounding them on the walls.

"Holy shit! This place is awesome!" Ivonne excitedly ran to the center of the cellar. "Oh my God!"

Gabriella slowly walked along the row against the wall, reading each date when she noticed something particular about the shelf. "Ivonne," she said, and began removing the bottles from a spot on the right end of the shelf.

Ivonne came over and asked, "Gabriella, what are you doing? She said take  _one_."

"Look at how this bookcase is positioned. It juts out like it's on a hinge. It's a door, I know it. There has to be a hidden handle somewhere back there."

"Stop it, Gabriella. You're starting to scare me. You need to let this conspiracy go!"

"Oh my God," Gabriella froze. "I feel it."

Ivonne said fearfully, "You're full of shit."

Gabriella twisted the metal handle she had in her grasp and pulled the whole shelf open.

Ivonne stepped back and nearly fumbled the wine bottle in her hand. "There's no way."

Gabriella rushed inside and felt for the switch. The fluorescent lights above slowly flickered on and showed long rows of shelves packed with soil. Ivonne said, "An underground warehouse. I can't believe it! Is his diabolical plan to build the world's biggest secret garden?"

"I don't think it's soil." Gabriella ran up to the end of a shelf and ripped the bottom corner. A white powder poured onto the concrete floor.

Ivonne cupped her mouth and said, "Oh my God. Maddalena was right. What now?"

"Well, we have to call the police."

"Maddalena said they won't investigate."

"We'll tell them we've been kidnapped. Then they'll have to come and see it all."

Ivonne removed her phone from her back pocket and said, "Wait…I don't have service. We have to go back upstairs."

"Okay. We'll go together." Gabriella turned around when Ivonne grabbed her wrist.

Ivonne said, "Wait…Gabriella, are you sure about this? I mean, you need to realize that Troy is going to prison with them. He's just as guilty."

Gabriella didn't hesitate when she said, "I know…but my friend is in danger."

Ivonne and Gabriella went upstairs emptyhanded and Sharpay asked, "Didn't you want anything?"

Ivonne took out her phone again and said, "I need to call my mom." She glanced at Gabriella briefly before stepping out the front door.

"Sharpay, there's something you need to see."

* * *

 

The fog still hadn't lifted, so the blue and red lights had a fuzzy glow around them. Gabriella and Ivonne watched everything from the porch. All the men were lying face down on the gravel with their hands cuffed behind their heads. A pile of soil-marked bags grew as the police emptied it from the house. Sharpay was speaking with some police officers in the lawn. Gabriella felt again that this was a scene she had no business belonging to. It was all so surreal.

Two officers grabbed Troy's arms and helped him stand up. They each kept their grips on him and escorted him to the back of police van. The officers went back and repeated the process with each of the other men before driving off down the country road and disappearing into the fog. Sharpay joined Gabriella and Ivonne and watched the pile of soil grow and grow.

Ivonne asked, "What now?"

"The officers consider this a crime scene, so we'll need to go back to the house in Positano. You can gather your things and I'll call a cab to take you both to the train station."

Ivonne asked, "What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't stay here, Sharpay."

Gabriella said, "Ivonne's right. It's time you went home. Your brother was worried sick about you. He was in Positano."

"Really?"

Ivonne nodded and said, "He's the reason we heard out Maddalena." She said regretfully, "I was so stupid I didn't believe her then."

"You both did the right thing." Sharpay leaned against Gabriella and wrapped her arm around her. "I don't know what I'd do without friends like you." Gabriella felt the familiar pull behind her eyes and looked up to the sky. She looked at a little huddle of stars where the fog was finally beginning to dissipate and let the tears stream down her face.


	8. Stateside

Gabriella drove up interstate twenty-five towards Java Junction - the only coffeeshop between Santa Fe and Albuquerque at a convenient _almost_ halfway point. She peered out at the mountainous terrain of the distant Cibola National Forest when a memory resurfaced…It was the last time she’d encountered a view so magnificent.

_“That’s the best part, remember?”_

She focused on the scene directly in front of her again, the long stretch of pavement dividing the empty desert in half and plunged the memory back into the depths of her mind where it belonged. She hated how her subconscious always found a way to connect every little thing back to him. She wished for nothing more than to untie all the connections, the thin red string pinning together he and the others from Italy like a corkboard conspiracy. But wishing did nothing, so coping was her only option. Swallowing the pain was a muscle; the more she did it, the stronger she became and the easier it got. She’d been getting a lot of practice lately as the days between then and this meeting dwindled.

It had already been a full month since the last time she’d seen Ivonne. Word had traveled quicker than they did, because the moment they landed in New York, they were questioned by airport security regarding their recent involvement in an international drug smuggling investigation. They waited with security for hours and hours before different agents in nicer suits asked to hear the story too. Then they were escorted to the airport in New Mexico and hadn’t seen each other since, nor had either reached out to the other. Gabriella was starting to think maybe they were meant to be _convenient_ friends; a temporary relationship formed by a similar traumatic experience and a desperation to connect, one that expires once they are allowed to move on. That was up until a few days ago when Gabriella received a text from Ivonne suggesting they meet up at a halfway point between their cities appropriately titled Java Junction.

She pulled into a tight spot in the narrow parking lot beside the coffee shop and approached the door. The moment she swung it open, she spotted Ivonne halfway through the line to the counter. Ivonne gave her a lopsided half smile, and Gabriella thought it mirrored her feelings perfectly. Happy to see her again, unhappy for the circumstances. Ivonne abandoned her spot in line and came over to give Gabriella a hug by the tea display. “Thanks for coming,” Ivonne said, “I know this isn’t easy.”

Gabriella thought that was a gross understatement. “Let’s grab a spot,” she said.

They went to a little metal table at the front of the store beside the glass containers of imported coffee beans. Gabriella took the seat closest to the door and slowly, deeply inhaled.  

“Relax,” Ivonne said with a reassuring smile. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m just happy to see my new friend again.”

Gabriella picked at the imaginary dirt beneath her nails. “I feel like we should. I _never_ talk about it with anyone, and I think that might help me finally get rid of it.”

Ivonne reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “It’s already gone, Gabriella.” She reassured her. “They can’t haunt us here. We left all the craziness in Italy.”

Gabriella shifted in her seat, pulling the fabric of her skirt between the cold metal seat and the back of her thighs. She let out a heavy sigh and stared down at the distorted reflection in the table’s surface. “I just can’t believe it took me so long to see it. I should have visited her sooner. She begged me to come, but I didn’t until it was almost too late.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I doubted you right to the very end.”

Gabriella shook her head. “We couldn’t have found anything until they took us to the vineyard. And that idea had to come from him.”

“See? You can’t beat yourself up over something you had no control over, or a choice you made when you didn’t have the information that you do now.” Gabriella said nothing but pulled her cardigan tight across her chest again. “How are you holding up with the whole Troy part?”

“It’s not easy, but each day has seemed to get easier.” She peered out the window, finding a lady selling flowers on the corner and a woman jogging by. She lamented, “It all feels so surreal. I don’t know how he thought he could hide all that from me forever, or if he never intended to. Either he wanted to enlist me as another member of their organization, or he was trying to distract me. Or maybe he was going to flee, and I’d never hear from him again, and never know what happened. I still haven’t decided which it is. I don’t think I ever will.”

“Sounds like you’ve gotten no closure.”

“I don’t need it,” Gabriella said decidedly, “I’m not the victim here.”

Ivonne nodded. “Have you spoken to Sharpay?”

“Yes, we still skype often. She’s flying me out to a baby shower in a couple months.”

Ivonne’s face lit up with a hopeful smile. “That’s wonderful! Do you think you could bring my gift to her? It’s a tiny onesie, so it shouldn’t be too hard to fit with your luggage.”

“Of course, but why don’t you go with me? I’m sure Sharpay could spare another ticket.”

“I wish I could, but I have a conference that weekend. Maybe some other time we can all get together again for a _real_ vacation. One without all the bad guys.”

“Yeah,” the corner of Gabriella’s mouth twitched up into small smile. “No bad guys.”

* * *

 

The following morning, Gabriella carried on the only way she knew how, convincing herself that this would be the last self-help book she’d need to read. Coupled with a steaming hot cup of herbal tea, she was confident this antidote for a broken heart would start kicking in soon.

Four years ago, she could have sworn she’d never shed a tear over Troy Bolton again. At least, that _had_ been the goal. The first time Troy Bolton fell out of her life, it was under her control. She anticipated and managed the damage, but the pain was still so great, she promised she’d never put herself through it again. The next man she fell for would be her last, she would make sure of it. Yet five years later, here she was, reading the breakup bible and sipping heartbreak tea because of no one other than Troy Bolton.

She wasn’t expecting anyone today, but nevertheless, there was a knock on her front door. She slid her bookmark into the crevasse of her book and hopped down off the little nook in her window. There was more knocking, harder and more urgent this time. “Coming!” Gabriella called to the anonymous, impatient knocks. She tossed the book on the coffee table and opened the door.

Despite the bleached blonde hair, considerably tanner skin, and dark brown moustache, she recognized him immediately. “I can explain,” Troy said.

Gabriella froze, her brain misfiring like a smoking circuit board shooting out sparks. She was stuck between jumping into his arms, slapping him, or driving herself to a psych hospital, and the indecision resulted in a stunned expression fixed onto her pale face. He looked back over his shoulder towards the sound of footsteps at the opposite end of the hallway and brushed past her into the apartment. Gabriella shut the door and latched both locks. She slowly turned around, not knowing whether or not he’d still be there or have disappeared into thin air, and not knowing which she wanted. But she turned and he was still there, standing on her couch, running his hand along the ceiling. A lump sat uncomfortably in her stomach and she asked, “What is going on?”

“I’m checking to make sure you’re not bugged.”

“Troy,” she stammered, “I meant what…? How did you…?”

“Oh, _that_.” He hopped down and sat on the couch, repeatedly running his hands through his short, blond hair.

She approached the other side of the coffee table from where he sat and crossed her arms over her chest. “You better have one hell of an explanation.”

He averted his gaze to the carpeted floor and shrugged. “I can’t say everything for security reason, but what I will say is that it was a covert operation, and now it’s over.”

Gabriella shook her head, still unconvinced. “I know what I saw, Troy. You were _arrested_.”

“All according to plan. And at the perfect time, too. I guess I have you to thank for that.” He winked.

The frustration brought tears to her eyes. He truly had no idea what she’d been through because of him. The days she hid in bed, hoping the nonstop connections couldn’t find her. He had become so wired in her head that even a bland white wall could bring his face to the front of her mind. The crying, the tissues, the exhaustion, the lukewarm tea. The fucking Breakup Bible third edition. She yelled, “Is this a joke to you?”

He frowned. “Of course not.”

“I didn’t ask to be a part of your covert operation!”

He said gently, “Ella, I know. I didn’t want you in it either. But I can’t take it back, and I’m here now. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“It’s been a month, Troy. A whole month wondering how any of it could have been real, believing I’d never see you again.”

“Ella,” he stood and gestured his palms out to her as he spoke like she could see the truth he carried if only she looked close enough. He spoke in a calm, gentle voice that dripped with sincerity, “I wanted to tell you from the beginning, but I couldn’t risk compromising the investigation. They have very strict rules about interacting with the witnesses. They don’t know I’m here now. I’m sorry I lied, believe me, I am. And I’m sorry I couldn’t make it normal again.”

“I just don’t understand, Troy. Last I knew you were a business major. How did you even get into espionage?”

“The agency I work for hires all majors as long as they pass training and a background check.”

Gabriella rubbed her temples and paced the space, feeling his gaze as his eyes followed her. Tonight’s stress headache was going to be a real mean one, as it was anytime with Troy. She sat down next to him on the couch and asked, “Anything else I don’t know about you?”

“Well, I speak French, Spanish, and Italian. I got a few more scars, and I learned how to use a high heel as a weapon in advanced improvisational combat training.”

Gabriella sighed. “Any other time I would have laughed at that. This is just so crazy, Troy. I don’t know what to do.”

“I have an idea,” Troy lifted his hand to the side of her face and brushed his fingertips from her cheekbones to her jaw. He slowly leaned in, his eyes darting over her face to gauge her reception, and touched his lips to hers.

Gabriella pressed her lips tighter onto his, savoring the feeling of his familiar soft lips and the sharp prickle of his new mustache. She draped her open palm over the back of his hand on her neck and brought it down into her lap.

Troy leaned away and glanced at their hands resting in her lap. “What’s wrong?”

Gabriella bit down on her trembling lower lip. She squeezed Troy’s hands and said, “I want this forever, Troy. Even if I can’t have it always, I want it forever.”

He responded, “I want this too.”

Gabriella combed her fingers through his hair from the top of his forehead all the way to the crown of his head. She looked deep into his blye eyes, and said, “So what else aren’t you telling me?”

Troy laughed. “What do you mean? That’s was it, at least all I _can_ say.”

“I know it can’t be that simple, Troy. What else are you hiding?”

“There’s nothing else, Ella.” He leaned in for a kiss, but Gabriella moved her head to dodge it. Troy let out a hearty laugh and said, “Come on. Don’t be suspicious of me. I’m not lying to you.”

Gabriella slowly, exaggeratedly asked him, “What else is there?”

Troy held a serious look with her as long as he could, but then he sighed. “Alright listen,” he said. “There is one thing.” He peered his apprehensive eyes at her like he was searching her face for a bad reaction.

Gabriella asked, “What is it, Troy? You need to communicate with me.”

Troy softly spoke, “I have to fly out to Egypt in a few days.”

Gabriella blinked and said nothing at first. Again, there was a short in the circuit of her mind. “What do you mean you’re going to Egypt? You just got here.”

“We have to start a new operation. I’m sorry, but I can’t abandon my assignment.”

“When will you be back?”

Troy sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask. I don’t know. It could be a long time before I can safely come back to you, if you’ll still want me to.” 

She shook her head. “What do you mean if I still want you?”

Troy collapsed his hands into fists over hers and adamantly spoke, “I love you, and to me that means I want you to be happy above anything else. I’m not going to expect you to wait for me to be done with every assignment, Ella. It’s going to be a long time that I can’t see you, or even talk to you. You deserve someone who can always be here for you and support you.” Troy shook his head when he saw the tears in Gabriella’s eyes. “This is why I didn’t want to bring it up now. Look, we still have the weekend. Let’s enjoy what time we do get together and talk about it again when we have to say goodbye. I’m sorry to spoil this.”

Gabriella listened and pushed it all down, exercising the muscle she’d learned the past month. In as convincingly natural of a voice as she could muster, she said, “You’re not spoiling anything. I’m glad I know about it now. Thank you for telling me.”

Troy let out a huff. “Well, I would say you’re welcome, but I can’t help but feel that this issue is my fault. It feels wrong to receive thanks for a situation I put us in.”

“How about I love you anyways, my silly man?”

“Now hearing _that_ makes me feel all kinds of bubbly inside.”

Gabriella laughed and lowered her head into the nook of his neck. “Crazy how this all happened. I thought when I met the love of my life it’d go down like a cheesy Hallmark romcom.”

“What are you talking about? I was a secret agent investigating an international drug ring, and you happened to know the leader’s wife. We reunited under the most outrageous coincidence. You mean to tell me that’s _not_ a Hallmark movie already?”

“With all that hidden cocaine in the wine cellar? Absolutely not.”

“Well if we can’t make a Hallmark movie, maybe we can go for a more on demand variety?” In one quick movement, Troy had scooped his arms underneath Gabriella’s shoulders and knees and was carrying her bridal style out of the living room.

Gabriella joyfully screamed, “Do you know where you’re going?” Troy went up to the first door and set her down to turn the knob. Gabriella laughed, “Unless you intend on having sex in the bathtub, my bedroom is the next door over.”

“This will work. I need to clean up after my flight, and I’d love your company.” He caught her hand by her side and brought it up to peck her knuckles, “m’lady.”

Gabriella giggled, “As enticing as that sounds, I don’t particularly enjoy the stench of public airport and overbooked flights.”

“No? You’re really missing out.”

“Hmm. Don’t really feel like I am though.” She shrugged and turned around to walk away went she felt him spank her ass. She released a startled yelp and scurried off back to the couch. The moment she heard the bathroom door between them close, the smile faded from her face.

There was a silence in the air, a sense of privacy that permitted her to feel this moment for herself. To be selfish, if only for a moment, and think of what was right for herself interest instead of their anti-Hallmark relationship. As picturesque as their reunion had been, Gabriella finally had to confront the truth.

They were on chance number three. And how would this one end? What would make it any different? Would he throw her down to the depths of uncertainty and heartbreak a third time? If he did, would she look back on this moment and wish she could snap herself out of the lovely trance he had and make her see what she was afraid to? Was this the last moment she could still walk away, and should have?

Gabriella unstuck herself from the blank space she had been staring into and retreated to the kitchen for a tall glass of ice cold water. She crossed her arms over her chest and took a long swig, wiping off the tiny droplet hanging from her lower lip on the back of her hand. The voice inside her head intruded, _Am I going to regret letting him in again?_

She poured the rest of the water down the sink, grabbed her purse, and knocked on the bathroom door. 

He yelled over the sound of the water, “Is someone finally coming around?”

“You wish! I have to get the mail so the front door will be open.”

“Okay, no worries. I have bubbles so if an intruder broke in, I could clean him up real nice for when the cops finally show up.”

She slowly backed away from the door and took off from the apartment. She rushed down the stairs to the entrance of the complex, a flood of anxious voices in her telling her what to do, how to react, and when to make her move. When she reached the mailbox, the voices were too strong to attempt to silence. She closed her eyes and tried to push everything down, but this was too big to fit. So she promised herself something instead, something that would give her peace if only for a little while. Just like he wanted, she would not worry about what would happen for the rest of his time here. She granted herself permission to enjoy what happened the next few days, and worry about it when they said goodbye. No exceptions. She opened her eyes and heard nothing but the leaves in the trees brushing against each other as the wind blew. She grabbed the stack of mail and went back into her apartment.

She tossed the mail across her coffee table, the pages upon pages of coupons and ads spreading out over the important pieces underneath. She sifted through the layers of ads she had no interest in seeing to find a long white envelope. She held it up to the light and found a shadow the shape of a check. Her hands moved frantically, hungrily and tore it open and pull out a check from Collins amounting nearly a thousand dollars. “Yes!” she cheered, so happy she kissed the front of the check before carefully folding it in half and putting it in the inner pocket of her purse.

Gabriella returned to the coffee table and spread out the ads more and scanned the mess again. Right when she thought she had uncovered anything that was wroth caring about, she found something that made her eyes bulge and punched all the air from her lungs. Peeking out underneath a page of coupons lied the crisp corner of a pink envelope. Her unsteady hand shook as she nervously pulled out the piece of mail. She stared down at the borders of the flap where it was sealed together with a small dab of red wax. _This isn’t real_ , she thought to herself. _This can’t be real._

She took a deep breath and looked across the living room to the wall between she and Troy. Her hands flipped it over and she forced herself to look down and confront what it could say.

The recipient penned in perfect cursive letters spelled out the words:

_To The Brunette_

THE END


End file.
